The Dark Defender
by PotCFan101
Summary: Months after Chucky was finally defeated, Andy, Nica, and Alice go to New York to start a new life. Right when they arrive, they meet Andy's old friend, Frank Castle, as well as the Defenders of Manhattan. All seems well, until old enemies return, with plans to control all of New York. Andy wants to help his friends, but first, he has to fight his own demons that plague his sanity.
1. Author's Note

**A/N:**

 **Assume Iron Fist Season 2 didn't happen. Also, Elektra is alive post-Defenders, and Trish's new powers from Jessica Jones season 2 aren't addressed.**

 **Enjoy!**


	2. Prologue: A Fresh Start

_December 2017_

Andy Barclay, his wife Nica Pierce, and their niece Alice exited the airplane at the JFK International Airport, taking in the view of New York.

"It's taken months, but we finally did it." Andy sighed, kissing Nica. "We made it to Manhattan."

"We were able to get an apartment, right?" Alice asked.

"Don't worry, Alice." Nica reassured her niece. "We were able to work something out… we're staying in NYC."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Alice asked. "Isn't there a lot of crime that happens there?"

"We've gone up against supernaturally possessed dolls." Andy smirked. "I think we can handle ourselves. Besides, you're probably confusing it with Hell's Kitchen."

An hour later, the three arrived at their apartment in New York City, and as they were about to enter their new home, a woman with blonde hair exited her own, just down the hall.

"Oh, are you all new?" The woman asked.

"Yeah, we kind of are." Andy replied.

"Pleased to meet you! I'm Karen Page." The woman greeted.

"Andy Barclay." Andy said back. "This is my wife, Nica Pierce, and our niece, Alice."

"Pleasure." Karen smiled. "Listen, we'll talk later. I have a… friend with me. Can't keep him waiting." Andy nodded, and he and his family went inside their apartment, while Karen closed her door.

"Who was that?" A gruff voice asked. Karen turned around, seeing a man with jet black hair sitting in a chair, his shirt partially ripped, and a bullet was lodged in his shoulder. Knowing the man well, Karen figured he had probably tried to break up an illegal guns sale, but the mission went south quick.

"New neighbors." Karen answered. "The man said his name was Andy Barclay."

"Barclay…" The man frowned, staring off into space.

"Someone you know?" Karen asked, searching the man's face. The man looked back, smiling.

"Ah, no." The man quickly evaded. "It just sounded familiar, that's all."

"Frank, you know I don't like it when you lie to me." Karen scolded. "You know him. Is he going to hurt us?"

"Jesus, no, Karen." Frank took a pair of pliers and painfully pulled the bullet out of his shoulder, causing even more blood to leak out. "At least, he won't. But trouble seems to follow him where he goes, not that he can help it."

"What does that mean?" Karen asked, helping Frank in putting pressure on the wound.

"It means that bad shit happens around that kid, almost as much as with me." Frank explained. "He's been involved in three different homicide investigations, as far as I can remember. Look, it's nothing to be worried about." Frank flashed a smile, and he resumed patching himself up, while Karen wore a skeptical expression. One way or another, she was going to find out who this Andy Barclay is…


	3. War Stories

_Chapter 1_

Andy woke up to find Nica laying in bed with him, with golden sunlight creeping through the windows. Smiling to himself, Andy brushed a stray hair out of Nica's face, causing her eyes to flutter open.

"Morning." Andy murmured. "Sorry for waking you."

"It's fine." Nica grinned. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah." Andy mused. Just as Nica started getting up, Andy looked to towards the doorway, seeing a familiar doll.

"You know, I always had a soft spot for families." Chucky grinned, jumping up and slitting Nica's throat.

"NO!" Andy screamed.

Andy bolted out of bed, covered in sweat.

"Andy, what's wrong?" Nica asked, having woken up from Andy screaming.

"Chucky, where is he?" Andy yelled, before looking at his wife. "You're… okay."

"Honey, you just had a nightmare." Nica comforted. Just then, Alice walked into the room, rubbing her eyes.

"What the Hell's going on?" Alice asked. "I thought I heard you scream Chucky."

"Sorry." Andy mumbled. "I just had a nightmare."

"Well, we might as well get ready for the day." Nica announced, and everyone began to get dressed.

Five minutes later, Andy, Nica, and Alice exited their apartment, where a man with a buzzcut and a black tank top left Karen's, covered in bruises.

"Shit." The man froze. Andy squinted at the man, recognizing him.

"Frank?" Andy asked. "Is that you?"

"You know him?" Nica asked.

"Barclay and I go way back, miss." Frank explained, shaking Andy's hand. "How ya been?"

"Things are finally turning around." Andy grinned. "This is my wife, Nica, and our niece, Alice."

"Pleasure to meet you two." Frank smiled, but Andy knew that no matter how happy Frank really felt, the smile was all teeth.

"How do you know Andy?" Nica asked.

"We met in the same squad." Andy told her. "If my memory's correct, the last time we saw each other was the year of 2015, Kandahar. It was actually the same day Kristen De Silva died…"

 _Flashback_

 _2015_

"I love my wife." Andy Barclay looked over at Frank Castle, who seemed to be cheering at the look of a card.

"What'd you get?" Billy Russo asked, walking over to Castle and sitting down.

"Springsteen, and they're playing Meadowlands." Frank explained, showing the tickets. "Got em for when I get back."

"Twenty nine days and counting man." Billy chuckled, laying back in his bed.

"God damn right." Frank agreed. "What about you, Bill? You got plans?"

"Yeah, I got plans." Russo grinned a mischievous smile, causing both Andy and Frank to chuckle.

"You ever thought about picking one and settling down?" Andy asked.

"God made me this way for a reason, bro." Russo smirked. "But what about you, Barclay? Have you ever thought about getting a wife?"

"Closest I ever got was with De Silva." Andy stared at the wall, thinking back to his first year of Kent Academy.

"The same one in Bravo? No way!" Russo shouted. "Why the Hell did you let her go?"

"It just wasn't meant to be." Andy replied. "Besides, everyone I come into contact dies…"

"Ah, Christ, are you still going on about the killer doll story?" Frank asked. "That's bullshit!"

"It's true!" Andy defended. "Even if it seemed far fetched, can you really rule it out, after the Incident?" Before Frank or Billy could answer, Colonel Ray Schoonover walked into the tent. Barclay never liked him, and always believed that Cochran was a better fit for the title.

"At ease." Schoonover announced. "Need you gentlemen for briefing. Five minutes. You too, Barclay."

Five minutes later, the three soldiers appeared in front of a map, standing parallel to Schoonover and the man running Cerberus squad, a CIA agent named William Rawlins.

"This terrain means we won't be able to land anywhere near the compound. Not without alerting the enemy." Schoonover pointed to the small square, outlined in a red marker. "So we'll land North of the ridge, and move in on foot. Once both teams are in, we'll hit the compound."

"'Both' teams?" Andy asked. "Where's De Silva?"

"She volunteered her men to help us, while she chases down an unconfirmed intel of another heavily guarded compound." Rawlins spoke up.

"No air support?" Billy asked.

"This is a clandestine mission, Russo." Rawlins continued. "It would be negated by air support."

"Got something to add, Castle?" Schoonover asked, looking at Frank, who hadn't spoken a word since the plan was formed.

"Sir, this looks like an ambush." Frank told everyone, staring at the map.

"And what do you base this analysis on?" Rawlins asked in a condescending tone. "The man has been a target for months, his whereabouts are finally confirmed. We're not going to get this chance again."

"So he's just here?" Frank asked. "He's just waiting to be caught? Where the terrain makes it a death trap? You know what we're called? The American Taliban, because we go in the middle of the night, and people disappear. They know about us, and they want us dead. I think it's a trap, because it's exactly what I would do."

"It's exactly what I'd do as well." Barclay added. "And not just for these guys…"

"Russo?" Schoonover asked.

"I trust Frank's and Andy's instincts." Billy said with dignity.

"And I trust hard earned, vetted intelligence." Rawlins smiled, completely ignoring what the three men said. "I will take my information over the vague notions of a war whisperer and a man who believes dolls can walk and talk." Andy frowned, the only two people he told about he past with a certain killer doll had been Frank and Billy. As Barclay pondered what was just said, Castle and Russo began arguing with the CIA agent, but were quickly brought to heel by Schoonover.

"Last I checked, none of you were in command." Ray barked. "Now, prep your teams."

"Sir." Frank gritted his teeth, and as Russo was about to leave, he added, "I think if we do this, men are gonna die."

"I pointed. Now go shoot." Rawlins replied, with cold indifference.

"Dust off at 2300." Schoonover declared. "Now get the Hell out of here."

 _Kandahar_

Frank was right, Kandahar was an ambush. Russo, Castle, and Barclay found themselves pinned down in what could've been described as a massacre, with Castle trying to stop the bleeding from Schoonover getting his arm torn off.

"Once they get those mortars ranged in, they'll pound us into the ground!" Russo yelled, shooting at an unseen enemy.

"Dammit, is De Silva back?" Andy asked, throwing a grenade over his shoulder.

"Negative, but we'll pick her up when we're done here!" Russo replied. "If we make it out alive."

"I'm clearing a path for the evac." Castle announced. "So I'm going in."

"That's suicide, Frank!" Billy tried discouraging his friend. "Are you out of your mind?"

"You wanna die here, like a rat in a jar?" Castle asked, continuing to shoot right in front of him. "I'm going."

"I'm going with you." Andy declared, popping up and firing a few rounds. "You'll need someone to watch your six."

"Bill, stay with Schoonover, make sure he doesn't bleed out." Castle ordered, before looking the Colonel in the eyes. "I'm going to get us home." With one final yell, Frank and Andy sprinted towards the compound, the rest of Cerberus squad giving covering fire, and the two made it in with little trouble. It was only after arriving did the real battle begin.

"Need any ammo?" Andy asked, loading his M16.

"I'm good." Frank grunted, pulling out his own assault rifle and began mowing down terrorists, while Andy picked off anyone who tried to sneak up on them. Frank and Andy started from the bottom floor, killing anyone in sight and going through half of their firearms, before ascending to the upper levels.

"Shit, I'm out!" Andy yelled, having heard a faint click from his pistol.

"So am I." Frank replied, tossing aside his machine gun, before he got shot in the shoulder. Thinking quickly, Andy dragged Castle next to a doorway, before pulling out his knife.

"Ready to finish this?" Andy asked.

"I'm waiting on you, Barclay." Frank retorted, taking out his own blade. Andy smirked, and once one of the Mujahideen insurgents walked in, the two soldiers slashed and stabbed the man, almost in sync. More insurgents arrived, but Andy and Frank killed them with ease, before Frank picked up a rock and began bashing one of their skulls in.

"Frank, stop." Andy told his friend. "He's already dead." Castle seemingly didn't listen, and kept wailing on the corpse.

"Frank, enough!" Andy pulled Frank's arm back and took the stone, finally forcing Castle to quit. "Now let's get out of here."

Twenty minutes later, Cerberus squad was back in their tent, recovering from the ambush. Russo and most of the men were staring at the ground, their hands shaking like leaves. Frank and Andy were pouring water all over themselves, and regurgitating their dinner and blood into buckets. Barclay noticed Rawlins walk in, but if he had said anything, no one seemed to hear it.

"Well, did you get him?" Rawlins repeated, clearly annoyed. "Did you kill the target?"

"The fuck did you just say?" Andy asked, as Frank got up.

"You piece of shit!" Castle roared with anger, walking over and punching the agent in the face. "You did this! I'll kill you!" It took Russo and Barclay to restrain the marine, and throw him in another room.

"You wanna kill him? I can't let you do that!" Billy shouted, as Castle threw a chair at the wall.

"Why the Hell are you protecting that piece of shit?" Frank growled.

"Because it's never on guys like them!" Billy argued. "Open your eyes Frank. This whole thing, it's… it's bullshit! You don't like how it smells, then get out! I am. I've requested a transfer back to the Force. I can't- we can't do this anymore! So let's get out. All of us."

"He's right, Frank." Andy spoke up. "Look at us. Look at yourself, man." When Frank didn't say anything, Barclay and Russo left the tent to check on Rawlins, but were stopped by another soldier, named Orson.

"Barclay I'm sorry to interrupt." Orson told Andy solemnly. "De Silva needs help."

An hour later, Russo, Andy, and the rest of Cerberus squad entered an empty compound in Afghanistan, where Kristen De Silva was supposed to be. What he didn't expect was to find pieces of her, all charred, with a knife lodged in her right eye.

"Andy, look at this." Billy called out. Andy walked over to where the other marine was at, seeing what looked like a charred baby, only two feet tall. Upon looking at it closer, Andy noticed it was wearing overalls, with the only letter still barely visible was a "G".

"Can't be him." Andy murmured under his breath. "It can't be…"


	4. He Always Comes Back

_Now_

"You never told me about your time in the military." Nica frowned, looking at her husband.

"That's because there's some things I'm not proud of…" Andy replied grimly, deciding to inspect the dirt on his shoes.

"Terrorists, criminals, they're all alike." Frank shrugged coldly. "Unlike you, I regret nothing."

"Not even killing Zubair?" Andy asked. "I was in the room, remember?" Castle shot Andy a glare that could've melted steel beams.

"Okay… hey Frank, can you lend me an AK-47 for the range?" Alice asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"What?" Frank arched his eyebrows, staring at Andy and Nica in bewilderment.

"She was with a friend of mine at a military academy." Andy explained. "But she didn't get to practice too much with the firearms."

"In that case, sure." Frank grinned. "So, you guys got something to do today?"

"Yeah, Alice and I are going to explore the city a bit." Nica interjected. "We always wanted to visit New York."

"And I'm opening up that pawn shop in Hell's Kitchen." Andy added. "Before we came here, I purchased the place, after you killed the last guy."

"I don't regret that." Frank muttered. "He was selling videos that had girls Alice's age." Nica looked horrified, realizing what he meant.

"Either way, we'd better head out." Andy announced, checking his watch. "We'll catch up later. Frank, it was good to see you."

"Wait, where's Karen?" Alice asked.

"She works at the Bulletin." Castle replied. "Had to leave early." With the reunion over, the Barclays left their apartment, and Frank snuck out to head back to the construction site.

 _New York Bulletin_

Karen walked through the building, briskly making it to her desk and made it to her desk, a single burning question running through her mind. Who was Andy Barclay? And how did Frank know him? Luckily, the Internet was a wonderful tool in the twenty first century, and with a simple google search, three different articles popped up, all dated back to the 90s, and in Chicago.

 **Kent Military Academy Homicide- Unsolved**

 **Chicago Double Homicide- Unsolved**

 **Chicago Triple Homicide- Unsolved**

Karen clicked on the triple homicide, then double, and finally, Kent. All articles mentioned Barclay claiming that his doll was possessed by the soul of Charles Lee Ray, the infamous Lakeshore Strangler.

"Karen!" Page jumped, looking up to see her boss, Mitchell Ellison standing over her. "Are you done editing the article about the gang wars across New York?"

"Not yet." Karen admitted, before getting an idea. "Hey, if I told you something that sounded incredibly insane, would you believe it?"

"We live in a world where aliens and gods fight gladiator matches in our backyard." Ellison scoffed. "At this point, I'll believe anything."

"What about a doll that was possessed by a serial killer in the 1990s?" Karen asked.

"That's the best you got?" Ellison asked. "Actually, I once read over an article over ten years ago, I think in 2004. Some cab driver downtown was run over with his own vehicle. One witnessed described seeing what looked like a ginger haired doll with scars laughing and running away, wearing a blue 'I love NYC' shirt."

"I think I remember hearing about that article." Karen replied. "I just assumed the guy was crazy."

"Everyone did." Mitchell agreed. "This was nearly a decade before the Incident. Hell, it was a few years before Tony Stark started flying around in that robot suit."

"Is there anything else about something like that?" Karen asked.

"Yeah, these stories have been going on since 1988." Ellison remembered. "It was usually the same: a kid gets a Good Guy doll for a birthday present, then claims it's running around killing people. Weirdest thing is I believed some of it for a while."

"How come?" Karen asked again. "You weren't that young in the 80s."

"You could say it was like a new dark age." Ellison explained. "Freaks with hockey masks running around, guys in white masks and knives killing people on Halloween. I heard a story of a family of cannibals living in Texas, where one of them wore a human face over his own, and carried around a chainsaw. There was even a rumor about some burned guy who could kill people in their dreams."

"That's crazy." Karen murmured, while Ellison shrugged, and went back to work.

 _Hell's Kitchen_

Andy handed the short barrelled shotgun to the customer, forcing himself to smile at the man.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" Andy called out, as the man left the store. Barclay sighed, leaving the counter for a while to clean the glass on some display cases, and admired some of the weapons he had ordered. Just as Andy was heading back to the counter, three people entered the store, looking like they were ready to kill someone.

"Good morning." Andy said cheerfully.

"Give us all the money in that register, old man!" The ringleader, a twenty year old hispanic yelled, pulling out a glock and holding it to the side. The other two men also drew their pistols. Andy simply sighed, walking over to the register, and pretended to pull the cash out.

"You know the one mistake you guys made?" Andy asked, confusing the three gunmen. Then, as quick as lightning, Barclay reached behind him, pulling out a metal baseball bat and clubbing the ringleader in the face. The man screamed, blood dripping from his nose, and Andy pulled out his personal handgun, shooting the two other men with precision. With the threat eliminated, Andy grabbed the first gunman by the collar, bringing him up to eye level.

"Never rob a store with guns." Andy taunted, before shooting the man in the chest, ending his life. Barclay sat down for a moment, needing to collect his thoughts, when he heard a familiar cackle. Looking up, Andy pointed his gun towards the laugh's source, seeing a ginger haired Good Guy doll with freckles.

"You can't be alive." Andy murmured. "You can't! We killed you for good this time!"

"It's like you were told, Andy." Chucky sneered. "You just can't keep a good guy down. You and Nica, huh? That was a match made in Heaven! Or Hell…"

"Shut up." Andy growled.

"And moving to New York?" Chucky laughed. "Gotta say, good choice. I remember taking Tiff and Glen here one time. The sights, the people… well, the ones I didn't kill."

"I said shut up!" Andy yelled, running over and slamming the baseball bat into Chucky, but was surprised when it just passed through him.

"Huh, that's new." Chucky smirked. "Guess I am just a manifestation of your nightmares. I'll see you real soon, 'old buddy'." Andy looked back at the doll, only to see that he had disappeared. With nothing else to do, Andy called the police department, to report an attempted robbery.

 _Downtown_

Nica and Alice walked down the streets of Manhattan, taking in everything the city had to offer.

"Aunty Nica, look!" Alice exclaimed, pointing up to a tall building. "That's where the Avengers live!" Nica looked up, seeing that the building had a certain "A" logo on it.

"From what I heard, it was originally called 'Stark Tower'." Nica commented. "Then the guy changed it after the Incident destroyed the building."

"That's so cool!" Alice said cheerfully, but then heard a grumbling. "Aunt Nica, I'm hungry."

"Yeah, Alice, so am I." Nica agreed, looking around for a restaurant. After a few minutes of searching, they settled on a chinese place called Genghis Connie's.

"Haven't had chinese in a while." Alice remarked, as the owner, Connie Lin, arrived to take their order. "Is the mu shu pork good?"

"It is a favorite of Danny Rand." Connie smirked. Alice nodded, making it known she'll try it.

"Soup of the day." Nica simply stated, but noticed a man with curly hair and a scraggly beard walking towards them.

"Is this seat taken?" The man asked.

"If you're going to say a cheesy pick up line, don't bother." Nica grumbled. "I'm married."

"Don't worry, so am I." The man chuckled, and pulled up a chair to the table. "I'm just here because we have a mutual friend in Frank Castle."

"And who the Hell are you?" Alice asked.

"My name is David Lieberman." The man introduced himself. "I know who you two are. Who your husband is. I just want to know if he's here to hurt or help Frank. He's already had enough friends betray him."

"I didn't know Andy knew Castle until today." Nica admitted. "I don't think he knew Frank was here in New York either."

"Somehow, I doubt that." David said wearily. "But-"

" _Reports coming in that a pawn shop in Hell's Kitchen was attacked by three gunmen…"_ Alice and Nica's eyes snapped up to the television, seeing an image of Andy's store on the screen.

"Oh my God." Nica gasped. "Alice, we need to go." Nodding quickly, Alice and Nica quickly got up, apologizing with Connie, and rushed over to Andy's shop, with Lieberman following close behind.

 _Construction Site_

Frank Castle, known to everyone else as Pete Castiglione, repeatedly smashed his sledgehammer in a concrete wall, tearing it to pieces. Despite other coworkers shouting at him, Frank kept on swinging the hammer.

" _I'm getting a call now that a local pawn shop was almost robbed-"_ Castle stopped swinging the hammer, listening intently to the radio he had with him. The radio was tuned to the WNEX Station, with the show Trish Talk being played. " _The owner of the store is Andy Barclay, who had just recently opened the shop…"_

"Dammit Barclay, what did you get yourself into?" Frank muttered under his breath.

 _Metro-General Hospital_

A man with bandages covering his entire face lay in a hospital bed, staring blankly at the wall. The television was on, but he seemingly paid no attention. That was, until the almost robotic voice of a reporter mentioned someone's name.

" _The pawn shop is owned by Andy Barclay, who had fended off all three gunmen."_ The reporter announced, and the screen flashed a picture of a young child holding a ginger haired doll. " _It should be noted that Andy Barclay is the same person who had claimed that his doll was possessed by the Lakeshore Strangler of Chicago, Charles Lee Ray…"_

"Andy… Barclay?" The man tilted his head, suddenly remembering everything, and snapping out of what could have been a coma. "Welcome back, old friend."

Twenty minutes later, Nica, Alice, and David arrived at the pawn shop, finding Andy finishing talking with the police.

"Andy!" Nica shouted, running over and hugging her husband. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, the bastards thought I was older than I really am." Andy nearly wheezed out, being crushed by Nica's bear hug. When Nica let go, Andy was tackled into another hug, this time by Alice. Finally, Andy looked up, seeing David.

"Lieberman." Andy greeted neutrally.

"You know me?" David asked.

"I followed yours and Castle's exploits from last year." Andy explained. "Nice job in taking down Rawlins. I always hated that guy."

"Yeah, he was a bit of a prick." David agreed. "What did you do here?"

"I killed the guys attempting to rob my business." Andy replied casually. "It's not the first time I've done something like this…"

"Yeah, I saw the footage at Harrogate." David interrupted. "I guess this is like child's play to you now."

"Interesting choice of words." Andy told him, before turning to Nica. "I do have a new problem though."

"What is it?" Nica asked, concerned.

"I'm seeing… him." Andy whispered. Nica's eyes widened, knowing exactly who he was talking about.

"He's dead Andy." Nica reassured her husband. "We were all there. We watched you put him down for good."

"And he's not coming back." Alice added.

"I know. But I'm still seeing him." Andy continued. "I think it's a manifestation of my fucked up past, and my fear."

"And what do you fear?" Alice asked.

"Losing you and Nica." Andy quickly answered. Nica and Alice just stood there, looking awkwardly, before David spoke up.

"Hey, how about Sarah and I take you guys out to drink tonight?" David asked. "Think of it as a way to officially welcome you guys to New York?"

"Sounds good to me." Andy agreed. "But what about Alice?"

"She can stay with Leo and Zach while we're out." David smiled. "Whaddya say?"

"I'm game." Nica joined in, grinning.

"So am I." Andy smirked. "Maybe we can get Frank and Karen to come too."

"Sounds like a plan." David wore a goofy grin on his face, before everyone left and continued on with the rest of their day until the evening.


	5. Night on the Town

Andy and Nica arrived at the bar David suggested, called Roy's, and began looking around and finding the Liebermans sitting at a table in the corner. David first noticed Andy walk in, and waved them over.

"Glad you guys could make it." David grinned. "Where are Frank and Karen?"

"They'll be here soon." Nica replied. "Said they had work to do."

"This place have Blady's?" Andy asked. "It's one of the only beers I can stand."

"Yeah, it has just about everything." Sarah laughed, taking a sip of her wine. Andy ordered his drink, while Nica ordered a budweiser.

"Didn't take you for a drinker, Pierce." David complimented.

"It's Barclay now." Nica corrected. "And after you fuck around with a doll for nearly five years, you need something strong to get through it."

"This place looks fairly new." Andy noted, looking around the bar. The place looked clean, unlike the usual bars he's been to.

"It kinda is." David explained. "The place was originally called Luke's, but the old bartender torched the place. The new guy used to work here, and he fixed it up recently."

"Who was the old bartender?" Nica asked.

"That bulletproof guy, Cage. He's down in Harlem now." David murmured, drinking his whiskey. "He runs the nightclub that used to be owned by the Stokes."

"Luckily, he hasn't done anything too drastic, or I'd have to go after him." Frank's voice was heard behind everyone. "Hate to have to take down one of Red's friends. Even more so that we once met in the Marines."

"I'm guessing you mean the Devil of Hell's Kitchen?" Andy asked, turning around to see Frank and Karen walking towards them. "Isn't he gone anyway?"

"Everyone thinks he's gone." Karen agreed, but then whispered in a hushed tone, "But Frank and I found out he's just recovering from Midland Circle."

"Yeah, I'd think going up against some ninjas in black tights would make you take a step back." Nica mumbled, drinking the alcohol. "How the Hell would you fight Luke Cage anyway? We all saw that video where not even a Judas bullet can stop him now."

"I'll think of something." Frank mused. "We also saw him get the shit beaten out of him by that Jamaican just days later."

"Fair enough." Andy sighed, but then noticed Karen had a small notepad and pencil out. "What's that for?"

"Well, after what happened today at the pawn shop, the media might try to turn the public against you, even though it was a robbery." Karen pointed out. "In addition to a drink, I was thinking on getting your side of the story, and running it at the Bulletin."

"Let the media say what they want." Andy grumbled. "I've put up with them long enough to ignore it."

"Are you sure?" Karen was about to push forward, but Frank stopped her.

"Karen, just let him be." Frank spoke softly. "The news throws a bunch of shit at me, and I don't give a damn. This guy's been going through the same crap longer than I have. Newspapers writing it off as his imagination. Friends, me included for a time, not believing him. The pricks in Hollywood even made a movie about Barclay's past, all for a quick buck."

"It's pretty cut and dry anyway." Andy added. "A couple assholes came in, threatening to rob and maybe kill me, I acted in self defense."

"Movie?" Nica asked. "What movie?"

"It's called 'Chucky goes psycho'." Sarah answered. "One time, we all watched it as a family, and it gave Leo nightmares for weeks." Andy chuckled, but caught movement in the background, seeing three men beginning to walk towards them. The men walked right to the table, blocking anyone from leaving.

"Well, it looks like we got a few lookers here." the bald bearded man, presumably the leader, snickered, and his friends chortled at the remark. Andy began sizing the men up, in case there was a fight. The leader was easily three inches taller, looking fairly muscular. The other two looked like identical twins, but both were a inch shorter than Barclay, and had a bit of a beer gut. The leader moved closer to Karen, who looked away in disgust.

"How about we get out of here, ladies?" The man asked, smiling to reveal blackened teeth.

"I'm spoken for." Karen shot a cold glare at the bald man, with Frank putting a protective arm around her.

"Don't worry, I wasn't talking to you." The bald man sneered. "I was talking to the brunette."

"Fuck off, I'm married." Nica snarled.

"So am I, don't try anything." Sarah added.

"Listen assholes." Andy stood up, putting himself between the three guys and his friends. "We're having a great evening with our partners, and we don't need you to fuck it up. So why don't you take Thing One and Thing Two back to whatever table you were at?"

"What did you just say to me?" The bald man drew back his fist and clocked Andy in the jaw, causing him to stumble a bit.

"Andy!" Nica was about to stand, but Andy held out his hand to stop her.

"I got this." Andy groaned, tasting blood in his mouth. "You're fucked now." The bald guy swung his fist again, but Andy caught it, taking Karen's pencil and stabbing the attacker's elbow. The man howled in pain, and Andy stabbed the man's neck, causing him to fall to the ground.

"What are you two chuckle fucks waiting for?" The bald guy gasped out. "Bruce, Eddie, kill him!"

"Alright, Victor!" Bruce said, pulling out a knife and attempting to slice Andy. Luckily, Barclay sidestepped and pulled the man forward, ducking from Eddie throwing a punch and stabbing Bruce in the neck. Then, with great difficulty, Andy dragged the the pencil across the man's throat, tearing the flesh and causing blood to leak out all over the floor.

"Shit." Frank muttered, seeing the bartender, Roy Healey, making a phone call. "Cops will probably be here soon."

Eddie advanced on Andy, grabbing an empty bottle and smashing it on another table.

"This is for my brother!" Eddie shouted, and thrust the makeshift weapon at Barclay. Andy quickly ducked and dodged, before grabbing the man's wrist and pulling him forward, shoving the pencil up through Eddie's jaw and penetrating his skull. After the thug's eyes closed, Andy violently yanked out his weapon and spinning around, seeing Victor come to his feet, holding a switchblade in one hand.

"I'm going to kill you." Victor growled, his black teeth being stained with blood. With a yell of primal rage, Victor ran at Andy, who didn't seem fazed. Instead, Andy stuck his leg out, placing the pencil on the table next to him, and as Victor tripped over Andy's foot, his head slammed into the pencil. Victor's body slumped to the floor, with the pencil sticking out of his forehead like a unicorn. Andy smirked grimly, but soon felt a hand on his shoulder, and he felt himself being thrown into the wall behind him. Dazed and confused, Andy looked up, seeing a woman with black hair, wearing a leather jacket and gray scarf. Before anything else could happen, Frank put himself between the two.

"That's enough." Frank announced.

"Why the Hell are you protecting that guy Castle?" The woman asked. "Roy called me, and the first thing I see is him putting a pencil in someone's head!"

"This 'guy' is a good friend of mine, Jones." Frank stated. At the mention of Jones, something in Andy's mind clicked. "And they attacked him first."

"Isn't he the same guy who's running the pawn shop now?" Jones asked, squinting. "Yeah, that's Andy Barclay. The guy claiming his doll was a killer."

"Are you really saying that's bullshit?" Frank asked. "You were at Midland Circle with Red. You guys fought those ninjas who could come back to life. After everything that's happened in the last nine years, can you really rule it out?" Jones was about to say something, but shut her mouth, for once not being able to think of a comeback.

"Fine, Frank." Jones gritted her teeth. "I'll lay off, since you're vouching for him. But this is only because you were a friend of Matt's." Jones went over to Andy and stuck her hand out, helping him up.

"So you're Jessica Jones." Andy muttered, sitting back down next to Nica. "Gotta say, nice work on Kilgrave."

"You know about that?" Jessica asked, frowning.

"I did some research of my own." Andy explained. "He somehow crossed my radar when I was tracking Chucky's whereabouts."

"Why don't you take off your scarf and stay a while?" Frank invited, pulling up an extra chair.

"I don't see why not." Jones replied. "Hey Roy, get me something strong!" As everyone else started conversing, Andy stared off into the distance, before hearing that familiar cackle again. Andy snapped his head to the wall he was thrown into, seeing Chucky once more.

"I'm impressed Andy. Killing three guys with a pencil?" Chucky drank from a can of beer, laughing. "That's some John Wick level shit!"

"Shut up." Andy whispered, through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, what was that?" Chucky held his hand up to his ear. "Admit it, I was right back at Phil and Joanne's home. You do have what it takes to be a killer."

"Shut. Up." Andy said again, a bit louder this time.

"Then again, Alice does too, after what she did to Foley-"

"Shut up!" Andy yelled, causing everyone to look at him as he threw the pencil at Chucky. Unfortunately, the pencil simply passed through, just like last time.

"Didn't we already establish this before?" Chucky rolled his eyes. "Jesus, you're boring me. I'll see you later." Chucky vanished, leaving Andy to explain himself to his friends.

"Andy, what the Hell was that about?" Frank looked at his old friend quizzically.

"Oh no…" Nica covered her mouth with her hand. "You saw him again, didn't you?"

"I… yeah." Andy admitted, looking at the floor.

"You ever tried anger management?" Jessica asked, downing her beer.

"And how'd that work out for you?" Frank asked, earning an icy stare from Jones. "But she is right, Andy. Why don't you come to a veterans meeting with me tomorrow."

"I don't think that will help." Andy grumbled. "And this has nothing to do with our time serving."

"True, but Curtis can probably help you." Frank persisted. "Listen man, just give it a chance."

"That sounds fair." Andy agreed, before raising his bottle. "Until then, I'm at least gonna finish this." Andy smirked, and drank the rest of the Blady's, and everyone continued talking and laughing for the rest of the night.

When the night was finally over, Andy and Nica drove over to the Lieberman's to pick Alice up. When the four arrived, they found all the kids sitting in the living room, with Alice and Zach playing one of his video games, while Leo both watched and read a book. Andy squinted his eyes, noticing the book was _No Country for Old Men_ , a good read in his opinion.

"Aunt Nica, Uncle Andy, you're back!" Alice exclaimed happily. "How was your night out?"

"It turned out great." Nica smiled. "Had a few drinks, got to meet Jessica Jones. The night was perfect."

"Andy, what happened?" Alice asked, noticing a bruise on her uncle's face.

"It was nothing." Andy mumbled.

"Bullshit. What did you do?" Alice asked again, more sternly this time.

"Three assholes tried to hit on our wives and Karen." David unloaded the story. "And Andy killed them all with just a pencil."

"A pencil?" Zach asked, raising his eyebrows. "That's so cool! That's just like John Wick!"

"Yeah, it wasn't fun getting tossed around by Jones though." Andy grumbled. "Anyway, it's time to go Alice."

"Aw, okay." Alice said sadly. "It was nice meeting you guys."

"Hopefully we'll get together again soon." Leo agreed. "We're gonna need a rematch." Alice smiled, and she, Nica, and Andy left, heading back to their apartment.

 _Drug Rehab NY_

Nurse Katie continued taking care of her assigned patient, when she heard a noise just outside. Katie furrowed her brow in confusion, and cautiously walked towards the door. A minute later, a faint shot was heard, and Katie received a bullet to her head, killing her instantly. The door opened, and a man with severe scars on his face entered, holstering his silenced pistol.

"Hi Mom." The scarred man greeted, his voice sounded cheerful, but his eyes showed nothing but resentment and malice. The patient's own eyes were filled with fear, not knowing what her son was going to do.

"You remember my friend, right?" The man asked. "He's the one who did this to me. Put me in a coma too. I just got out." The woman's eyes widened, but she couldn't say anything.

"Well, now, another one of my friends has come back, and I honestly thought he was dead. But now, if he finds out what I tried to do to him…" The scarred man trailed off. "Well, let's just say I need to tie up all my loose ends." The man took a small syringe out of his coat, with it containing a colorless liquid. The mother began squirming, whimpering at the sight of the syringe. The man just smiled grimly, and injected the syringe into the IV bag next to her bed.

"Goodbye Mom." The man whispered, walking away as the woman whimpered and writhed in agony, slowly dying from whatever was injected into her system. Right before the man left, he pulled out a shell casing from his gun and dropped it on the floor, planting evidence.


	6. Support Groups

Andy's eyes fluttered open, taking in the sunlight pouring into their apartment. He looked over, seeing Nica right next to him, making short breaths in her sleep. Andy touched her hair lightly, causing Nica to wake up.

"Sorry." Andy whispered. "Sleep well?"

"Better than ever." Nica smiled. Both of them heard a noise, and turned to the doorway, seeing Alice in front of them, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"You're not going to make out, are you?" Alice asked in a gravelly voice, due to having just woken up. Andy chuckled, but then looked behind the little girl, sensing something was off. A certain Good Guy doll stood behind her, and slit Alice's throat with a large knife.

"Such a happy family." The doll snickered, and Andy's blood turned ice cold. The voice was so familiar, yet it wasn't Chucky's. With a horrifying realization, Andy recognized the voice coming out of the doll's was none other than his own. "But not for long!" The Andy-doll raised a gun in the air, firing a single bullet. Andy looked on, seemingly in slow motion, as the bullet penetrated Nica's head, splattering her blood and brains all over his body.

"NO!"

Andy gasped loudly, sitting up in bed. It was still dark out, so he checked his alarm clock. Three AM.

"Andy, what's wrong?" Nica asked, stirring awake. "Another nightmare?"

"Yeah." Andy muttered. "This time was much worse."

"How come?" Nica asked, confused.

"This time, it showed a Good Guy doll killing you and Alice." Andy recounted his nightmare. "But the doll had my voice, not Chucky's."

"What's that mean?" Nica frowned.

"I think it means I'm becoming a monster." Andy guessed. "Back in 1990, Chucky succeeded in taking my body, and I had to be in the doll. The things I did, the people I killed… that haunts me everyday. I thought I could forget it, but now, the past has come back to bite me in the ass."

"Andy, you're not a monster." Nica told her husband. "You risked yourself to save me and Alice. You were willing to be at the mercy of Chucky if it meant that Alice and I would be spared."

"I appreciate that, it's just… I don't want to become the very thing I've feared and hated for decades." Andy continued.

"Look, maybe you should go to that therapy session." Nica suggested. "I know, I once had group therapy that didn't work, but that's because the doctor was an asshole anyway."

"Good point." Andy snorted in laughter. "I suppose if Frank vouches for Curtis, then it's worth a shot." Andy and Nica gave each other a quick kiss goodnight, and fell back asleep.

Hours later, Andy found himself sitting in a circle with other army veterans, with Frank sitting right next to him. Across from them was Curtis Hoyle, the man Frank had suggested could help.

"I'd like to introduce a new member, Andy Barclay." Curtis declared. Slowly, there were hushed whispers around the circle. It seemed everyone had at least heard of the little boy who claimed his doll was a killer. "He and I have a mutual friend; Pete."

"Thanks for the introduction." Andy chuckled, and began his story. "For as long as I was a little boy, I have been relentlessly hunted someone, or something. I had recently fought back, and I don't have to look over my shoulder every day. But the feeling of dread is still there. Even though he's gone, I'm still living a paranoid life. I keep seeing him, in my nightmares, and sometimes right in front of me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that for the first time, I can be free of living in fear, but I won't, because I'm scared." As if on cue, Chucky seemingly materialized right across from Andy, sitting where Hoyle should've been.

"C'mon, Andy, why fight it?" Chucky asked, grinning a maniacal smile. "You know you enjoy killing. You just have to embrace your inner psychopath!" Frank began speaking, but Andy wouldn't listen. Instead, he got up and grabbed Chucky by the throat, drawing his fist back.

"Yes, Andy. Do it!" Chucky enthralled. Andy was about to put his fist through the doll's head, when somebody grabbed him. Confused, Andy looked back, seeing Frank holding his arm in place.

"That's enough." Castle growled. Andy turned his head once more, and with a shocking realization, saw that he was holding Curtis by the throat.

"I'm- I'm sorry." Andy muttered, beginning to walk away. "I need some air."

"Andy, wait!" Castle called out, before turning to Hoyle. "I'll go speak with him." Frank followed Andy outside, where the two bumped into Jessica, apparently waiting for them.

"Didn't go as planned?" Jessica asked dryly.

"What, you care?" Andy said sarcastically.

"I kinda do, since I had a similar problem not too long ago." Jessica replied. "Look, Nica sent me here, so let's get this over with. I once killed a man on accident, and I suffered delusions of my own tormentor. He kept egging me to kill again, and become a psychopathic murderer."

"Then how did you fight it?" Frank asked. "Or do you still see Kilgrave?"

"I don't anymore, but I learned to fight back." Jessica explained. "I learned to take control, and to not become a killer."

"Thanks, but I doubt that'll work for me." Andy grumbled. "I've already killed way more people, and I don't think I can stop it."

"Give it time, Barclay." Jessica smirked. "But hey, last night was great. The hangover this morning, not so much." With her piece said, Jessica turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Andy and Frank alone in the hallway.

"Wanna go back?" Frank asked. Just as Andy was about to answer, Frank heard his phone ringing. "Damn. Hold on." Castle answered his phone, speaking to someone on the other end. Andy tried to listen in, but all he got out was that he was talking to Karen.

"Shit. Thanks, Karen." Frank shut off his phone, having a grim frown on his face. "Karen called. Russo's out of his coma."

"He's just one guy." Andy reasoned.

"That's not the bad news." Frank added bitterly. "His mother's dead, and people are already thinking that I killed her."

An hour later, Andy, Frank, Nica, and Karen were sitting in Karen's apartment, discussion the events that had transpired.

"The Bulletin had received news that Carla Russo died last night, around 11:53 PM." Karen reported. "She was found with prussic acid being injected into her system, where she died shortly after. Her caretaker, someone named Katie, was found with a bullet in her skull. The shell casing suggests a nine millimeter pistol, with an armor piercing tip."

"And they're assuming I killed her." Frank muttered. "C'mon, it's obviously Russo. He hated that bitch the most."

"Look, I'll try to find something that will clear your name, Frank." Karen promised. Frank smiled, and the two leaned close to kiss.

"Maybe it's time to go for now." Andy whispered to Nica, and they both left Karen's apartment and entered their own, where Alice was waiting patiently.

"How'd it go?" Alice asked.

"Everyone thinks that Frank killed Billy Russo's mother." Nica gave the rundown. "But Karen's already planning on finding evidence that proves him innocent."

"Let's hope that something comes up." Andy murmured. "Then again, we can all vouch that we were with him at the bar."

"Who would they believe?" Alice asked. "All three of us have been going on about a killer doll. Somehow, assholes have a hard time believing in that, even though there bullet proof guys and people who can fly right here in New York."

"Jessica was there with us." Andy insisted. "So were Karen and Lieberman."

"Yeah, and Lieberman was dead for over a year, and everyone knows that Karen has been protecting Frank ever since he showed up in Hell's Kitchen." Alice countered. "And I doubt Jones' word will hold up either."

"Dammit. Sometimes, I forget you're only thirteen." Andy sighed, while Alice smirked.

"I'm taking that as a compliment." Alice replied. "So, what do we do?"

"If it comes to Frank being arrested, he'll need a lawyer." Nica suggested.

"Don't worry, already got one." Andy turned around, seeing Frank and Karen in the doorway with a man in a suit and red glasses.

"Murdock." Andy greeted.

"Mister Barclay." Matt Murdock replied. "Shall we get to work?"

 _Ryker's Island_

Billy Russo walked towards the prison's visitor center, accompanied by another man in a suit.

"I've bought you more than enough time to speak with Fisk." The man informed, as the entered the room, seeing Wilson Fisk sitting at a table.

"Thanks, Donovan." Russo smirked, before sitting across from Fisk. "My personal business is done. The bitch is dead, somehow Frank is blamed, and Barclay's arrived in New York."

"Excellent. I appreciate you faked your coma until he finally came." Fisk smiled. "We're getting closer to our revenge on all our rivals."

"Do the others know that you're the benefactor?" Billy asked, curious.

"Some of them do." Fisk answered casually. "Like how you do. Burstein is just finishing his work on Stryker, he was only contacted by Donovan. Joy Meachum and Davos know that somebody supplied him with the shipping container Hancock 212, with instructions to visit Japan, but they do not know whom."

"And what do we do with Barclay?" Russo asked.

"After you leave, I've arranged a flight for you to Chicago." Fisk continued, seemingly ignoring the question. "Ben Donovan will give you the details on where to go, and who you're looking for." Confused, Russo just nodded, and got up to leave.

"If the Devil of Hell's Kitchen really survived, there's a chance his ninja girlfriend did too." Billy warned, before leaving.

"Don't worry, I already have an assassin for that." Fisk grinned, as the door shut behind him.

"I believe you have something for me?" Russo asked, approaching Donovan.

"Mister Fisk told me to give it to you." Ben confirmed, handing Billy a folder full of papers. Russo opened the folder, seeing the picture of a man in his late thirties. The name on the dossier read Sgt. Ellis, Mark.

"Thanks." Russo said, before walking away. "Time for some air sickness."


	7. Evening Visits

While Billy Russo began crossing half the country, Andy and his friends were still gathering evidence to prove Frank's innocence, while Nica left for some private business.

"Let's start with the truth Frank." Matt declared, looking at the Punisher. "Did you kill Russo's mother?"

"I didn't." Frank muttered. As Matt cocked his head to the side, Frank continued, "You know that."

"Okay. You're telling the truth." Matt decided.

"How do you know?" Alice asked.

"His enhanced hearing allows him to hear someone's heartbeat." Karen explained. "He can tell if someone is lying if their heart rate increases."

"Shouldn't this shit be easy?" Castle grumbled. "How'd you do this last time?"

"Last time, Karen dug up your history." Murdock reminded Frank.

"Great, so we can just use that again, right?" Alice suggested.

"That helps, but we'll still need solid proof Castle didn't kill Russo's mother." Andy said. Just then, Chucky materialized next to Andy, grinning like a madman.

"Maybe I can help." Chucky smirked. "Who do you know could figure out if there was footage at that nursing home?"

"Cameras." Andy blurted out. "Frank, think you can call up David?"

"I'll try it in the morning." Castle mumbled. As Frank finished speaking, Nica walked back inside.

"Hey, I brought one of our new friends." Nica casually announced. Andy looked behind his wife, seeing Jessica Jones had joined their little party.

"Got any whiskey, Barclay-" Jessica stopped mid sentence, dropping her camera. Everyone followed her gaze, which had apparently landed on Matt.

"Hi, Jessica." Murdock said quietly. Instead of saying anything back, Jessica stormed over and pushed Matt into a wall.

"You son of a bitch." Jessica spat, grabbing Matt by the shoulders and shaking him. "You asshole. Why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't know." Matt whispered, but Jones didn't take that as a good enough answer.

"We all thought you were dead!" Jessica yelled, punching the wall right next to Matt. "Do you even know what's been going on since Midland Circle?"

"Jones, stop!" Frank commanded. "I pulled Red out of the building. I dropped him off at a convent so some nuns could care for him without asking questions. I didn't tell anyone because it wasn't my secret to tell."

"But ever since Matt 'died', New York has gone to Hell!" Jessica shouted. "My mother came back, Luke's taken over Mariah's old territory, and Rand is running around acting like the new Devil of Hell's Kitchen!"

"Jessica, listen." Matt finally spoke. "I'm sorry. I really am. I wish I visited you all sooner, but I didn't. That's on me. But right now, we need to focus on a bigger issue."

"Yeah, I heard. Castle's on trial, again." Jessica shrugged and sat on the couch next to Karen. "But what do you need me for?"

"Now that you mention it, we could use you to see what Russo is up to." Andy suggested. "I have a feeling killing his mother was more than just framing Frank."

"I'll see what I can do." Jessica promised, and as she got up, she glared at Matt. "I won't tell Luke or Danny. I'll leave that for you." With that, Jones left, slamming the door behind her.

"Shit, we'll have to fix that wall now." Alice complained, staring at the hole next to Matt's head.

"Another day." Nica replied. "Right now, we gotta think of what else we can do to help Frank. Right Andy?" If Andy heard her, he didn't answer. Instead, he was just staring at the wall.

"Andy?" Alice called out. Still, nothing.

"Andy!" Nica shouted, causing Barclay to jump. "Are you still seeing Chucky?"

"Yep." Andy sighed. "Look, I just need to get outside for a minute, okay?" Andy stood up and left, with Frank silently following him out the apartment and into the street.

"One of these days, you're gonna sneak up on the wrong guy and they'll shoot you." Andy muttered, somehow knowing Frank was behind him.

"Well, they'd better not miss." Castle chuckled. "Look, I don't think I can understand how deep your trauma goes-"

"No, you can't." Andy snapped, refusing to face Castle. "I know what happened to your family, Frank. I know that you, me, and Russo had to go through the same shit in Kandahar. But you don't know how far this goes. That fucking doll was in my head for almost thirty years. Thirty fucking years! That's almost as old as I've lived! I had my childhood ripped from me, Frank! Do you have any idea what that's like, to be just a kid, and to get shoved head first in this shit?"

"No, I don't-" Frank was trying to say, but Andy wasn't done.

"Exactly." Barclay interrupted. "I finally killed that piece of shit earlier this year. I thought I'd be done with it. I moved here, to get away from Chicago, and I have a wife, a decent home, a job that I like, and great friends. But now, Chucky's in my head again, even after death." Frank grimaced, taking in everything his old friend just said.

"I was going to say that I don't know how that is, but I know a few who do- oof!" Andy finally turned around, seeing a man in a green hoodie and yellow cloth over his mouth appear out of nowhere and attack Frank.

"What the f-" Frank tried to say, but the man did a somersault in the air and kicked him down.

"Hey!" Andy ran over and grabbed the man's arm before he could punch Frank, giving Castle enough time to get back up and deliver a right hook at the masked man's jaw. The man in the mask responded by headbutting Barclay and uppercutting Frank, and as the two were about to get up, they noticed the man's right hand began to glow.

"Shit." Frank muttered. "That can't be good." Thinking quickly, Andy rolled as the man brought his fist down, causing the ground to shake, but otherwise, not harming him. Barclay jumped back up and tackled the man, causing his fist to stop glowing, and ripped off the mask and hood, mildly surprised with what he saw.

"I'll be damned." Andy mumbled. "Danny Rand."

"You know me?" Rand asked, getting up.

"Who doesn't, billionaire boy?" Frank muttered, picking himself up off the ground. "Now we know what Jessica meant by you playing Devil."

"You've met Jessica?" Danny frowned.

"Yeah, we both have." Andy answered. "She gave me about the same warm welcome as you have. What the Hell are you doing here?"

"I heard that Frank Castle is back to killing people as the Punisher." Rand pointed accusingly at Frank.

"Oh, Jesus." Castle exasperatedly threw his hands in the air. "Does everyone think I killed Billy Russo's mother?"

"I guess so." Danny replied. "Sorry."

"What was that thing with the glowing hand?" Andy asked.

"I'm the immortal Iron Fist." Rand said, without missing a beat.

"Sounds like a sex toy." Andy chuckled.

"Didn't you see my hand?" Danny asked.

"Hey, never said I didn't believe you." Andy quickly replied.

"He'd probably believe you anyway." Frank shrugged. "He's had trouble with mystical shit before."

"Voodoo, to be exact." Andy told Castle.

"Whatever. I'm just trying to prove that you're not the only one who's had shit thrown your way." Frank continued. "Take Rand, for instance. His family died in a plane crash when he was ten, and he was stranded in the mountains."

"Yeah, and if his story is right, he also got visit a magical place that gave him that glowing hand." Andy pointed out.

"That's not fair." Danny complained. "It's not like becoming the Iron Fist brought my parents back."

"Either way…" Andy trailed off, and Frank continued speaking.

"Or Red." Frank added. "From what I read about him, he was blinded when he was nine. Then, sometime later, his father got killed for doing the right thing."

"Or Jessica." Rand spoke up. "I looked up everyone else, and she got in a car crash when she was fourteen. Her parents died, while she survived."

"What's the point in all this?" Andy asked.

"The point is that you shouldn't be a mopy dick." Frank said harshly. "So your favorite toy turned out to be a monster. Boo hoo. Doesn't mean you have to cling to that shit your whole life."

"I'm not trying to." Andy insisted. "I just don't know how to let go."

"Ever tried meditating?" Danny suggested.

"Never done that shit." Frank informed. "But Andy could use it…"

"Worth a shot." Andy reasoned. "C'mon, there's someone you should see back at my place anyway…"

 _Chicago_

Billy Russo walked down the streets of Chicago, eventually finding the right apartment building. Sighing in anticipation, Russo rang the bell, hearing someone on the other end.

"What the fuck do you want?" a grouchy voice asked, cracking the door open a bit.

"I'm looking for a place to stay." Billy lied. The man stared at Russo, more specifically, at his scars.

"We don't have a vacancy." the old man claimed, but as he was about to shut the door, Billy wedged his foot in the crack.

"Listen, I need to speak with one of your tenants." Russo cut to the point. "Mark Ellis. He still lives here, right?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" the old man asked.

"I just need to speak to him. It's urgent." Billy pretended to beg. The old man looked at him closely, before shaking his head.

"Fine. Ya got fifteen minutes, then you're out." the old man led Billy to one of the apartments, labeled with the number three.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Billy knocked on the door three times, until a man looking ten years older and having a blonde buzz cut opened the door.

"Who the fuck is it?" the man growled, cautiously pulling a bowie knife out of his back pocket.

"My name is Billy Russo." Billy introduced himself. "I knew one of your classmates at Kent Academy. Andy Barclay, wasn't it?"

"If you're a friend of his, get the fuck out." The man groused, sitting in a chair and began drinking a beer.

"Don't worry, I'm not a friend." Billy reassured. "I assure you, Mister Ellis, I am trying to help you avenge the death of your friend, Brett Shelton."

"How do you know about that?" Ellis demanded, drawing a pistol.

"I'll explain everything to you, if you come with me to New York." Billy promised, holding out his hand. Ellis thought over his options, and eventually, he made the decision to take his chances.

"Deal." Ellis smirked, shaking Russo's hand.

"Terrific." Billy smiled, and pulled out his phone. "Fisk, Ellis agreed. We're on our way back now."

"Good work, Russo." Wilson Fisk said on the other end. "I contacted my assassin just as you left. He should be here by the time you arrive."

 _Denver_

 _Three Hours Ago_

"Hey Lester, bar's closing!" the bartender yelled. The older man was clearly sleep deprived, and was showing a beer gut. "Get your ass out!"

"My name-" Lester spoke in a thick english accent, turning around sharply. All he had wanted to do was play darts while he was drunk, and the bartender wouldn't leave him alone. Without even looking, Lester threw the dart behind him, hitting the dart board at the center, with deadly accuracy. "-is Bullseye."

"I don't give a shit what you call yourself!" the bartender shouted. "Get the Hell out!" Without saying a word, Lester walked over to the dart board and pulled out the dart, turning around and throwing the projectile at the bartender. Shocked, the older man didn't have the time to register what was happening, as the tiny dart lodged itself in his left eye and puncturing his skull, killing him without so much a scream.

"Asshole." Lester muttered, and suddenly pulled out his phone, feeling the vibration in his pocket. "Who is it?"

"An old friend of yours, Bullseye." Wilson Fisk's commanding voice was heard on the other end. "I have a new… job for you."

"Last I checked, you got your ass handed to you by the Devil of Hell's Kitchen." Bullseye chuckled.

"Not to worry, I'll be out of Ryker's soon enough." Fisk promised. "But I need you to go to New York. An associate of mine, Billy Russo, will come looking for you." The phone was hung up from Fisk's end, and Bullseye grinned.

"Guess I'm back in business." Bullseye took of the black ski cap he was wearing, revealing a target shaped circle on his forehead, with a single dot in the center.

Hours later, Bullseye exited the JFK International Airport, seeing two men walk towards him. One had blonde hair, with a military buzzcut, and the other had scars all along his face.

"Bullseye?" the scarred man ask.

"That's my name." Bullseye smirked with pride. "I'm presuming you're Fisk's associate?"

"Something like that." Billy Russo smiled, offering his hand in a gesture of a partnership. "Let's talk business." Gingerly, Bullseye reached his arm out and grabbed Russo's hand.

"Let's."


	8. Deadly Revelations

"Matt?!"

Andy, Frank, and Danny Rand entered the already cramped apartment, seeing Nica, Alice, and Karen sitting on the couch, with Matt Murdock leaning against a wall. At the sound of the three's footsteps, Matt turned his head in their direction.

"I hope you're not going to light up your fist." Matt groaned. "Jessica already roughed me up when she saw me."

"It's been too long, man!" Danny ignored Murdock's statement. "We all thought you were dead!"

"I thought so too." Matt admitted. "Wait, why are you here?"

"Well, I heard that the Punisher killed someone in a hospital, so I've been hunting him all night." Danny explained. "But this guy vouches for him."

"So do I." Matt added. "I've already questioned Frank, and I believe him."

"And Jessica is hunting for evidence against Russo." Andy continued. "He's the one who really killed that woman."

"Any chance you could use your company to help with this?" Alice asked. "I mean, you guys have some private detectives, right?"

"Nah, Joy had to turn to Jessica to find out about shady business dealings last year." Danny told everyone.

"Well, what do we do now?" Nica asked.

"Right now, it's a bit late." Frank announced. "We should all get some rest. We'll figure this out in the morning." Everyone else murmured in agreement, with Frank and Karen going back to their apartment, Matt leaving for his, and Rand heading to his dojo.

"We'd better get to bed too." Nica suggested, beginning to walk to the bedroom, while Alice passed out on the couch. Andy was about to follow, but saw Chucky materialize on top of the kitchen counter.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Andy grumbled.

"Can't. I'm apart of you." Chucky snickered. "C'mon, Andy, think! Russo's endgame can't be just framing Franky for murder! He's gotta be planning something."

"Jesus, I'm tired." Andy sighed, turning towards the bedroom. "I'll have to deal with you tomorrow."

"You can't escape me Andy!" Chucky sneered. "Mike couldn't, the Kincaids couldn't. De Silva couldn't!"

"So that was you!" Andy yelled. He stormed over to the counter, pulling out a large kitchen knife from the drawer, and held it tightly, considering stabbing the apparition.

"Go ahead a do it!" Chucky goaded. "You know you want to."

"I also know it won't do anything." Andy gritted his teeth, dropping the knife to the floor. "Now for the last time, Chucky, go to Hell."

"You still think I'm Chucky, don't you?" the doll cackled.

"No shit." Andy muttered.

"Oh, right. The voice. Hang on." the doll reached behind him and yanked a cord with a ring attached, pulling it out of his back. "That's better, don't you think?" Andy's mouth hung open. He couldn't believe whose voice he was hearing.

"You- you're-" Andy stammered.

"Yes." the doll leered. "I'm you." The doll with Andy's own voice began laughing maniacally, and with it being too much to take in, Andy fainted, as his world turned black.

 _Alias Investigations_

Jessica sat in her office, drinking whiskey right out of the bottle, while trying to figure out what to do next.

"What're you up to, Billy?" Jessica muttered, taking a large gulp of the alcohol. Her thoughts were interrupted in a moment, when she heard footsteps approaching her door. Frowning, Jones looked at her clock, reading 3:15. Glancing back at her apartment's door, there was a shadow of one- no three- men, with their feet right behind the door.

"We're closed!" Jessica called. She soon regretted saying anything, as the door was kicked down.

"Shit!" Jessica swore loudly, diving out of the way to prevent being trapped. "Do you know how long it took me to fix that window alone?" Jessica dove to the ground, hearing a gunshot go off.

"Jessica Jones." Jones looked up, seeing the three men. One had blonde hair with a buzz cut, and next to him was a bald man with a beard, and had a type of circular brand on his forehead. In the center was a man with scars all along his face, with a gun raised.

"Russo." Jessica grumbled. "Who are your buddies, and what the Hell are you doing here?"

"I'm so happy you asked, I was going to tell you about my evil plan…" Billy replied sarcastically, before firing another round. Jessica barely dodged, picking up her desk and using it as a shield. Unfortunately, that proved useless, as while Russo continued firing rounds, the distraction provided the other to men to go around her and try to sideswipe Jones. The blonde haired man lunged, pulling out a large knife and slashing Jones' shoulder, while the the other with the brand punched her.

"Ah, dammit!" Jessica yelled up, picking up both men and throwing them across the room, before turning her attention to Russo. Smirking, Billy pulled out a military grade knife and began swiping at the detective, who could barely dodge. Eventually, Jones saw an opening, and as Billy swung again, she grabbed the knife and used her strength to break the blade. Growling in frustration, Russo threw a right hook, but it was caught by Jessica.

"It's over." Jones hissed through gritted teeth.

"Not quite." Billy activated a hidden blade in his wrist gauntlet, stabbing Jones. As Jessica screamed in pain, the man with the brand got up, taking a toothpick out of his mouth and throwing it at her leg with pinpoint accuracy, embedding it into her hamstring.

"Jesus!" Jessica gasped. "Wait, you're Bullseye?"

"Nice to have a fan." Bullseye laughed. "Shame we have to kill you." Turning serious, Bullseye pulled out a gun, shooting Jessica in the other leg and arm, forcing her to fall to the ground.

"That's enough playing around." Billy declared, raising his wrist blade. "You should have minded your own business Jones, instead of getting mixed up with Frank and Andy."

"What are you talking about?" Jessica asked. Russo stayed silent, about to stab her heart, when he cried out in pain. Billy reached over his shoulder, ripping whatever stabbed him out, and everyone saw it was a Japanese sai.

"Shit." Billy turned around, seeing a woman with long dark hair and wearing a red leather outfit that covered everything but the shoulders. The woman broke into a dead sprint, jumping up and kicking Russo in the face. The other two men attempted to fight the mysterious woman off, but she simultaneously countered their strikes, ending the short scuffle by knocking them to the ground.

"Get out." the woman threatened, picking up her sai. "Before I kill you all." The three men glared at the woman, before getting up and simply walking away.

"Next time, you're dead." Russo vowed, before his small group left the apartment complex. With the threat eliminated temporarily, the woman knelt down, checking to make sure Jones was still alive, and better yet, conscious, if only for a few seconds longer.

"Wait… you're Matt's ex girlfriend…" Jessica said slowly, as her eyes began to close. "Elektra…"

"I'll take you to someone who can help." Elektra promised, picking Jessica up and carrying her over her shoulder with ease, and made her way out of the apartment.

 _Harlem_

"I'm telling you Claire, you should talk to Luke." Soledad Temple scolded her daughter in their apartment. "He seems to be going down a dark path ever since Mariah Dillard died."

"I don't know if he'll listen, Mom." Claire sighed, looking down at the table. "I just don't think he'd be willing to talk it out, and is too far gone this time." Just as Soledad was about to retort, they heard a sharp knocking at the door.

"Who could that be?" Temple frowned, reading the clock as 3:25. Being cautious, Claire grabbed a knife from the kitchen drawer and turned the doorknob, with her breath being taken away at the sight of the woman in front of her.

"I know you have no reason to trust me-" the woman that Claire realized was Elektra began to say, but was cut off.

"You're goddamn right." Temple snarled. "You almost killed Matt, Jessica, Luke, Danny, and then helped the Hand in trying to destroy New York!"

"I was manipulated by Alexandra. I know who I am now." Elektra replied. "If you still don't trust me, then so be it, but she needs help." Elektra set Jessica down on the couch, and attempted to apply pressure to the bleeding.

"How do I know you didn't do this to her?" Claire asked accusingly.

"Ask her yourself." Elektra grumbled, slapping Jones awake. Jessica stirred, feeling the sting of the punch, and looked straight at Claire.

"How'd I get here?" Jessica bluntly asked.

"Elektra brought you here." Claire explained, grabbing a pair of tweezers and pulling the toothpick out of her leg. "Did she do this to you?"

"Surprisingly, no." Jessica mumbled. "But thanks for saving me."

"You're a friend of Matthew's." Elektra shrugged.

"If it wasn't her, then who did take you out?" Claire asked, patching up the knife wound.

"There were three men." Jessica remembered. "One was Billy Russo, I think he was the leader. That one assassin, calls himself Bullseye, he was there. He's the one who stuck me with the toothpick. Then there was this other guy. Blonde hair, had a military buzz cut."

"Did they mention why exactly they were there?" Claire asked. Jessica shook her head in response.

"No, they seemed to target me specifically." Jones replied. "They did mention I shouldn't have gotten mixed up with Frank Castle or Andy Barclay…"

"The Punisher? He's still alive?" Soledad asked. "And Andy Barclay is in New York?"

"Who's Andy Barclay?" Claire asked.

"He was a troubled boy." Soledad told her daughter. "Back in 1988, he had claimed his doll was possessed by a man named Charles Lee Ray, a man who would be as old as me, if he was still alive."

"What if those stories were true?" Claire asked. "We live in a world with big green monsters, men who fly and shoot lightning out of hammers, and guys running around dressed as the American flag. Not to mention the Matt, Danny, Luke, and Jessica here."

"Whether he was right or wrong, it is best to stay away from Barclay." Soledad warned. "Death and misery seems to follow him everywhere."

"Yeah, Frank's still around, and I met Andy just last night." Jessica groaned. "I just can't figure out how they knew I had met up with them already. It had only been a few hours…"

 _Chinatown_

Billy Russo, Bullseye, and Ellis walked down the streets, stopping at another apartment complex.

"So, fucking, close!" Ellis complained, as the three climbed the stairs. "We were so close to killing Jones, but then that woman showed up!"

"Elektra Natchios." Billy noted, not turning around. "I heard about what had happened at Midland Circle, and I had hoped that both she and Daredevil had been buried for good."

"Well, that's what I'm here for, right?" Bullseye reminded Russo. The three finally stopped at what appeared to be a normal apartment door. Just before Billy knocked, the door opened, revealing a woman with red hair that was put in a bun.

"I was expecting you guys to come in." The woman smirked.

"Are we speaking to Mary, Walker, or the third one?" Billy asked.

"I'm Walker." The woman answered, allowing the three to come in. "I warned you that Jessica Jones isn't a pushover."

"We thought that there would be strength in numbers." Russo reasoned.

"Clearly, you were wrong." Walker continued. "I'm kinda glad she kicked your asses though. Jones is mine."

"Listen, lady-" Bullseye advanced, but Walker pulled out two machetes, one aimed at his heart, the other resting on his neck.

"Don't threaten me again." Walker said quietly but coldly, before releasing Lester. "And if you really wanted to kill her, maybe you should have done it the other night, after she, Castle, and Barclay got piss drunk."

"It wasn't just Jones." Ellis spoke up. "There was someone else."

"Who the Hell are you?" Walker asked.

"That's Mark Ellis." Billy explained. "And he's right. Elektra Natchios really did survive Midland."

"I heard rumors, but I haven't seen her with my own eyes yet." Walker reported.

"Hey, how did she know Jones had met Andy and Frank?" Ellis asked.

"Because I've been watching them all for quite some time." Walker revealed, leading everyone to a room in the apartment. Upon opening the door, Russo saw a giant billboard, littered with photos. The photos consisted of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, both in his red armor and black mask. More photos showed Jessica Jones walking around New York, one of which showed her grabbing a man in a purple shirt by the neck. There were pictures of Luke Cage with Jessica, then at the old Genghis Connie's, and finally, with him in a suit and overseeing Harlem's Paradise. Even more pictures showed Danny Rand approaching the Rand Enterprises building, then photos of him in a mask and his fist glowing yellow. Right next to Rand was Frank Castle, mostly when he still had a beard, but also when he had saved Karen Page at the hotel. As Ellis looked around, he noticed pictures of Andy Barclay leaving the airport with what was assumed to be his wife and quite possibly his child.

"Didn't know Barclay had a kid." Ellis commented.

"Not his." Walker quickly corrected. "That's his niece." Walker then approached the billboard, picking up three photos.

"I forgot to put these up here." Walker pinned each photo at the top, allowing the three men to get a good look at all of them. The first photo showed Andy, his wife, and his niece having a drink with Castle and another family, while the third showed them at their apartment, with Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones with them. The final photo showed the same apartment, but this time with Danny Rand.

"I took these a few hours ago." Walker added. "Just before you tried to kill Jones."

"Why do you want to kill her anyway?" Bullseye asked. "Did she run over your dog or something?"

"You have no idea what she took from me." Walker replied darkly. "Are we almost ready?"

"From what I have heard, Fisk is going to get transferred to Seagate tomorrow night. That's where we'll strike." Billy informed. "Is that prick done in Japan yet?"

"I spoke with Davos before you showed up." Walker told him. "He said he's nearly finished with his work, then he and Joy Meachum are flying straight back to New York."

"Good. We need him for the plan to work." Billy announced. "If you don't mind, we'll crash here." Without even asking for confirmation, Russo collapsed on a couch, nearly passing out from the fight, and rested for the day ahead.


	9. Message for the King

An older man, appearing in his fifties, entered his small home in the small Japanese town he resided in, growing tired of the long night. As the old man looked around, he sensed that something was off. With speed that contradicted his age, the man spun around, finding a man with a clean shaven head and stubble staring at him.

"Orson Randall." the man greeted. "I am honored to finally meet you." The man tensed, not many people knew his real name. Then, something in his mind clicked.

"You're from Kun Lun." Randall stated. Not a question. The younger man nodded.

"I am Davos." the man introduced himself. "I believe you knew my father, Lei Kung."

"I did." Orson confirmed. "He and I were very close. We also had to fight each other in order for one of us to face Shao Lao."

"Like with Danny Rand and I." Davos mused. "But Danny has perverted the Iron Fist. He let our home fall to the Hand."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Orson asked. "I already made that deal with Wilson Fisk to give you the previous Iron Fist's corpse."

"And our business would have concluded there, Mister Randall." Davos agreed. "But I looked into you, and you confirmed as much that you faced Shao Lao. You also have the Iron Fist. And it is something I require."

"Why won't you just take it from Rand?" Orson asked cautiously.

"Because Danny has surrounded himself with allies and has convinced himself that he's right." Davos continued. "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen. The unyielding woman. The man with unbreakable skin. The one who calls himself the Punisher. He has even deluded himself into sleeping with a Hand whore. But you, Mister Randall- you are alone out here." The moment Davos finished, Orson took off his coat, pulling out two handguns. Orson tried to aim at the younger man, his hands and the guns glowed from his inner chi. Thinking quickly, Davos kicked Randall in the stomach, before forcing both his hands behind his back.

"You have perverted the Iron Fist as well." Davos snarled. "You use the gift to instead power your cowardly weapons." Filled with cold fury, Davos knocked Randall out, before tying him to the post next to the door

Ten minutes later, Orson came to, seeing three women etching some type of tattoo onto Davos' back. As Randall tried to look closer, he felt a pain in his gut, and looked down, seeing a deep gash in his side. He looked back up, seeing the three women finish the tattoo, and as Davos stood up, he also saw a picture of a serpent on the man's back. Davos turned around, smiling, but Orson knew there was no joy in that grin.

"And now, Randall, you shall give me what is mine." Davos wrapped his index and middle fingers around Orson's temple, and pressed his thumb on the old man's forehead. Unfortunately, Randall knew what was going on, this was an ancient ritual to transfer the heart of the dragon from one person to the other. Orson struggled, trying to ignite his fists, but his was too tired and fatigued, and Davos succeeded in stealing the Iron Fist.

"Thank you." Davos whispered, drawing back his closed fist. The last thing Orson Randall saw before dying was Davos' fist glowing red, and heading straight towards his heart.

Joy Meachum waited patiently next to her private plane, checking her watch. Once she looked up, she saw that her companion was briskly walking towards her, with his right hand covered in blood.

"I trust you got what you came for?" Joy asked. Davos nodded.

"I have the fist. I finally have my birthright." Davos spoke triumphantly.

"And Randall and the Crane Sisters?" Joy asked.

"Orson Randall is taken care of, and the Sisters are well paid." Davos replied. "Let's go, we must return to New York."

"If you have the Iron Fist, then why do you still want to go after Danny?" Joy pressed.

"Are you hesitating, Joy?" Davos countered. "Danny has taken everything from me. I have no family. No home. For the longest time, he even kept the Fist to himself, but perverted its use. Surely, you can understand?"

"Of course." Joy quickly responded. "He kept my father being alive a secret from me. Both him and Ward. They're both the reason I lost him all over again. And ever since he got back, he has completely undermined everything I've worked so hard for."

"I knew you weren't wavering." Davos complimented. "Now, shall we return?"

 _New York_

The next morning, Andy woke up from yet another nightmare, but this time, he was careful not to wake up Nica while doing so. That proved to be unnecessary, as Nica was already up, and speaking on the phone.

"-Okay, we'll come right over." Nica finished, hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Andy asked, getting up and putting a shirt on.

"A woman named Claire Temple was on the phone, telling us to meet her at her apartment." Nica deadpanned. "She says she's friends with Matt, Jessica, Danny, Luke, and has even bumped into Frank. But she says that Jessica is with her now, and she was attacked just after leaving our place."

"Shit." Andy muttered, as Alice entered their room.

"What's going on?" the young girl asked.

"We're going to see a mutual friend." Andy announced. "But we're dropping you off at the Liebermans."

"Hell no." Alice talked back. "Tell me what's really going on!"

"Fine." Nica bit her lip. "Jessica got the shit beaten out of her last night. I don't know how she escaped, but she's at someone else's apartment right now."

"Then let's get going." Alice urged.

"No." Andy said adamantly. "You're either staying here, or you're staying with David and Sarah while we go. What's it going to be?" Alice folded her arms, expecting Barclay to surrender, but saw that he clearly wasn't backing down.

"Fine. I'll stay here." Alice pouted, sitting on the bed.

"Alice, we just don't want to see you get hurt." Nica tried reasoning with her niece.

"Look, if someone tries breaking in here, the gun's in the drawer." Andy told her, before he and Nica left, running into Frank and Karen on the way out.

"Did Temple call you guys too?" Frank asked. Nica nodded.

"How'd she even know how to call us?" Andy asked.

"It's called the phone book." Castle muttered. "I'm guessing Red and the barefoot billionaire were also called. You guys might wanna follow us, we know where Claire lives."

Ten minutes later, Andy, Nica, Frank, and Karen found themselves in Claire Temple's apartment, looking down at Jessica on the couch, who was still sleeping.

"What the Hell happened?" Frank asked Claire in a hushed whisper.

"Jessica told me there were three men who barged into her apartment." Claire replied. "One of them was Billy Russo, that guy who escaped the hospital."

"Yeah, the last time I saw him, I turned his face into a jigsaw puzzle." Frank mumbled.

"The second guy had a circular brand on his forehead." Claire continued. "Jessica said he goes by Bullseye."

"Heard of him." Karen spoke up. "I once read an article that he has performed over a hundred assassinations, and has deadly accuracy."

"Jessica didn't know who the third person was." Claire finally said. "She did describe him as having a military buzz cut, with blonde hair. Do you guys know who that could be?"

"No. Not a clue." Andy replied, looking off in the distance.

"Really? You don't have a single fucking clue?" Andy turned around, seeing the doll apparition that sounds like him. "C'mon, Andy, isn't there somebody you can think of?"

"No." Andy thought to himself. "Get out of my head."

"You really believe saying the words in your head will make me go away?" the doll laughed. "That's a fucking riot."

"You can't possibly be me." Andy thought. "You mentioned shit that I didn't do or say."

"Oh, but I am. With a little bit of our 'friend til the end's' murderous temper." the Andy doll snickered, then continued. "The night Chucky transferred his soul into our body, I was let out."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Andy thought.

"Think of me as your dark side, kid." the doll chuckled. "And sooner or later, I will be free." Andy simply stared at the doll, mouth hanging open.

"Andy? Andy!" Nica shook Barclay, causing him to snap out of whatever trance he was in. "I've been trying to speak to you for five minutes! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just another visit from the little devil on my shoulder." Andy grumbled.

"You never did tell me what you're nightmare was about last night." Nica told him.

"You knew about that?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, when I got up, you were tossing and turning." Nica revealed. Andy sighed, taking a deep breath.

"I saw Chucky again, but it was different this time." Barclay told his wife. "He had allied himself with Billy Russo, and they were set on killing me, Frank, and everyone we hold dear."

"Well, that can't happen, since the doll's dead." Frank said matter of factly. "But that doesn't mean Russo won't try." Just as Frank finished, the door opened, and Matt and Danny arrived.

"Sorry we're late." Matt apologized. We got here as soon as we could."

"What happened?" Danny asked.

"Jessica had just left our place, when she was attacked in her own apartment." Nica recapped. "Russo was there, and an assassin named Bullseye."

"Yeah, I've heard of him." Matt spoke up. "He used to be employed by Wilson Fisk. If he's come back to New York, then Fisk must be planning something."

"You think all of this is connected?" Claire asked. "Russo, Fisk, and now Bullseye?"

"Could be." Matt guessed, scratching his head.

"There was also a third person who attacked Jessica, but no one knows who it is." Claire told Matt and Danny.

"How'd she get all the way here, if she was beaten at Alias?" Danny asked.

"She didn't." Everyone turned around, seeing the source of the voice in the hallway take the form of a woman in a red outfit and two sai. "I brought her here."

"Elektra." Matt gasped. "I knew you were alive."

"Thank Castle." Elektra pointed to Frank. "He pulled us both from the wreckage."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Matt asked, turning towards Frank.

"Like with you, I didn't want your hopes to go up." Frank explained. "I just dropped her off at St. Vincent's, haven't seen her until now."

"It's good to see you again, Matthew." Elektra said sincerely.

"She's not still going to kill us, is she?" Danny asked, beginning to light his fist up.

"I trust her for now." Matt told everyone.

"So do I." Jessica stirred awake, catching everyone's attention. "Jesus, I need a drink."

"At this time?" Andy asked, glancing at his watch.

"Eh, it's seven o'clock somewhere." Jessica shrugged, as Claire pulled out a bottle of scotch. Suddenly, the door opened, and everyone heard a set of footsteps.

"Mister Cage sends his regards." Everyone turned around, with Andy raising his gun, at the large black man with a circle beard.

"Who the fuck are you?" Andy asked.

"People on the streets call me Sugar." the man introduced himself. "Cage couldn't come himself, so he sent me."

"Wait, why couldn't he show?" Nica asked.

"He's a bit tied up in business." Sugar tried to reason.

"You mean he's running the gangs in Harlem." Danny said flatly.

"And he didn't bother to show up?" Matt asked.

"Hey, ever since Mariah died, Cage became the king nigga around here." Sugar defended. "He's been trying to keep everything under control."

"By filling the power vacuum." Jessica groaned.

"Just get out." Claire ordered, clearly upset. "Tell Luke to come by himself." Sugar wore a pained expression on his face, but left without a word.

"I guess this meeting is adjourned now." Andy joked. "What's our next move?"

"We all have lives to live." Matt reminded everyone. "But tonight, we'll figure out what to do with Russo and Bullseye, if they really are working with Fisk." With that, everyone left Claire's apartment, including Jones, who was fully healed from her injuries.

"Hey, Nica, I'm going straight to work." Andy lied, kissing his wife. "I'll be home later." Nica nodded, and the two parted ways. As Andy kept walking, the doll with his voice materialized sitting on his shoulder.

"You're not really going to your pawn shop, Andy." the doll scolded. "What are you really doing?"

"The fuck are you doing?" Andy asked. "Get off!"

"Well, I thought I'd try out the little 'Devil on your shoulder thing'." the doll cackled. "Honestly, it beats walking!"

"I'm just going to pay Cage a visit." Andy whispered. "Remind him who his real friends are."

"Ooh, ya gonna kill him?" the doll asked hopefully.

"I don't even know how to scratch him." Andy mumbled. "It's just a talk, that's all."

 _Harlem's Paradise_

Sugar walked through Luke Cage's office on the balcony, finding him pacing, as if deep in thought.

"So, how'd it go?" Luke asked, hopeful.

"Not well, boss." Sugar reported. "They kicked me out, and said you should come by."

"Shit. This is what I was afraid of." Luke mumbled. Suddenly, the two heard the sounds of the security guards getting beaten. "What the Hell is that?" Sugar was about to open the door, when it was kicked open, and a man with a beard walked in, aiming a gun at the king of Harlem.

"Next time a friend of yours gets hurt, don't send your muscle as a messenger." the man growled.

"How'd you get past the guards?" Sugar asked. The man rolled his eyes.

"Take a fucking guess."

"Hey, you're the guy at Claire's." Sugar realized.

"Yeah, and he should've been there." The man pointed to Cage.

"Do you know who I am?" Luke asked, facing the would be attacker. "What's a skinny white boy with a peashooter gonna do to me?"

"Just this." the man fired two rounds, hitting Cage in the shoulders.

"You do realize the bullets bounced off, right?" Luke smirked.

"That's what I was counting on." the man told him, nodding behind Cage. Confused, Luke turned around, seeing two of his bodyguards laying on the ground, both with bullet wounds.

"Look, man, what do you want?" Sugar asked.

"I'm just here to warn Mister Cage." The man said. "Drop the crime lord act. It's changing you for the worst." Sugar looked back at Cage, then at the two guards who got shot.

"Who are you?" Sugar asked.

"The name's Barclay." the man turned to leave, stepping over the other guards he had beaten. "Andy Barclay."

Andy Barclay left Harlem's Paradise, content with saying his piece.

"Man, that was fun!" the Andy doll howled with laughter. "We gotta do that again!"

"Shut your fucking mouth." Andy grumbled, walking back to the pawn shop.


	10. Captured

Billy Russo drove down the empty road, surprised that his was the only car. After having to go on yet another flight, it felt refreshing to at least drive somewhere. After a few more minutes, Russo arrived at a home on the outskirts of Savannah, and after parking behind some trees, he began walking towards the house. Once he finally got to the home, he flung the garage door open, seeing a man with a beard, working with another man in a tank of either water or acid.

"Are you almost done, Burstein?" Russo asked. The man nodded.

"I just have to increase the temperature…" Burstein replied, making the proper adjustments.

"Why couldn't you have done this last year?" Billy asked, curious.

"I had to run more tests." Burstein explained. "The first time this happened with Carl Lucas, it ended in an explosion that killed someone."

"If that had happened now, it wouldn't be my problem." Billy said coldly, as the experiment was finished, and the man in the tank slowly stepped out.

"Who the Hell are you?" the man asked.

"A friend who has a common goal." Billy replied cryptically. "Diamondback, isn't it? Or do you prefer Willis?"

"And who are you, Jigsaw?" Willis chuckled at his own joke.

"Jigsaw… that has a nice ring to it." Russo thought. "But I'm here to give you a chance to kill Luke Cage."

"Speaking of Carl-" Willis turned towards Burnstein, grabbing him by the throat. "You helped save him."

"Willis, please." Burnstein begged. "He came to me after he got shot. What was I supposed to do?" Willis didn't listen, and instead, squeezed his hand, strangling the doctor to death. Satisfied, Stryker threw Burnstein's body to the ground, his face turning a shade of purple, and blood running from his nose.

"Why would I need your help?" Willis asked Billy. "I can now take Cage on without Judas bullets!"

"Because he has friends who have his back." Russo warned. "Daredevil. Jessica Jones. The Punisher. There's even someone who can hurt both him and you by lighting up his fist."

"So, what, it's just gonna be you and me against some people who think they can be green monsters and gods?" Diamondback laughed.

"Not just me." Russo smirked. "I've already picked up two other people on our little crusade, and one of them is coming back from a journey to Japan. He should get to New York the same time we do. Now, do we have a deal?" Billy finished by holding out his hand, in a gesture of partnership. With a sly smile, Diamondback graciously shook it.

"Deal."

 _New York_

Nica entered her apartment, already stressed from the day. As she shut the door behind her, the key was thrown onto the coffee table in front of the couch, and Pierce went towards the bedroom.

"Alice, I'm home!" Nica called out. "Andy went to finish some business, so he'll be back later!" It wasn't until she finished the second sentence when Nica realized there was no response.

"Alice? Are you there?" Nica asked, opening the bedroom door, the last place she and Andy left her. However, once she entered the small room, she realized Alice wasn't there. "Alice?" Nica looked around the entire apartment, only to find that her niece wasn't anywhere. Upon going back to the bedroom, she also noticed something else: the handgun was also missing.

"Shit." Nica murmured to herself, taking out her phone to make a call. "Andy, we have a problem. Alice is missing, and she took the gun."

 _Chinatown_

"When do I get to kill Cage?" Willis snapped. "He deserves to die for all the Hell his family caused me."

"I am growing weary of waiting as well, Russo." Davos chimed in. "I have the fist. I can kill Danny now."

"Clearly, your teachers in Kun Lun never taught you patience." Billy sarcastically replied. "And Stryker, if you ever served in the military, then you would know about tactics."

"Have you at least told them the plan?" Walker asked, laying on the couch.

"Even if I did, I'll refresh your memories." Russo muttered, laying out a map of Manhattan. "In a few hours, Wilson Fisk will be put in a prison transport on his way to Seagate. Stryker, I want you to meet them and get Fisk out. Oh, and wear a hoodie to look like Cage."

"I already tried that. Didn't work." Diamondback grumbled.

"Well, you'll probably have a better chance now that you're bulletproof." Billy retorted, before continuing. "At the same time, I want Davos to go to Harlem's Paradise and attack Luke Cage. Leave someone alive to call Rand."

"With pleasure." Davos casually said, but wore no smile.

"Walker, hunt down Elektra." Russo ordered.

"What about Jones?" Walker asked.

"I doubt she'll be getting up anytime soon." Billy chuckled. "Ellis, wait at that warehouse I showed you earlier."

"Where the fuck are you going?" Ellis asked.

"I'm going to catch up with my old buddy Frank." Billy grinned a cold smile.

"Hey, what about me?" Bullseye asked.

"You're going to mount an assault on the police department in Hell's Kitchen while Stryker is getting Fisk." Russo told him, picking up a briefcase. "And you're going to wear this." Curious, Lester opened the briefcase, and what inside forced him to do a double take. The contents inside housed a suit of red armor, with a familiar mask that had horns.

"How am I supposed to assault the department without a weapon?" Bullseye complained, shutting the case.

"Glad you asked." Billy smirked, walking towards a cabinet and pulling out a minigun. "I hope you don't mind that I took up space for my 'toys'."

"I don't give a shit." Walker shrugged.

"Where the fuck did you get that?" Ellis asked, his eyes popping out of his head.

"I snagged it from Castle the first time I visited that warehouse." Russo replied. "Ellis, with me. Time to give these 'heroes' a run for their money."

 _Hell's Kitchen_

Frank walked down the streets of New York, now wearing a hoodie. While he continued walking, Castle heard footsteps running towards him, and fearing it was a mugger, quickly spun around, his hand itching towards his gun. Before him was the girl who was usually with Andy and Nica.

"Hey Frank!" Alice said cheerfully.

"Alice?" Frank asked, confused. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Barclay's apartment?"

"I snuck out." Alice grinned mischievously. "How bad was it?"

"How bad was what?" Frank asked, trying to evade the question.

"Don't bullshit, how much crap was Jessica in when you guys saw her?" Alice elaborated.

"Not too bad." Frank replied truthfully. "She got up walking real quick."

"Well, that sounds good." Alice sighed. "This has to be connected though, right? Billy Russo escapes the hospital, kills his mother, then gets two other guys to get the jump on Jones?"

"Can't be a coincidence." Frank agreed. "They gotta be planning something."

"But the question is what?" Alice inquired. Just as Frank was about to reply, they heard tires screech, and looking up, noticed a black van come to a halt at the other end of the street. The door opened, and a man with scars jumped out with a light machine gun. The man began firing, forcing Frank and Alice to duck behind a car, with Frank doing his best to shield the girl.

"Is that-?" Alice began to ask, but was interrupted.

"Russo." Frank growled, unzipping his hoodie to reveal his Punisher vest. "Stay here." Frank pulled out his gun and began shooting back at Russo, who walked slowly forward.

"Can you hear me, Frank!" Russo screamed, loading his gun. "You're gonna die today!" Russo yelled a battle cry, beginning to light up the car Frank and Alice were hiding behind. As Billy continued shooting, he heard tires squealing, and looking to the right, saw that a black pickup truck was heading straight towards him. Thinking quickly, Billy shifted fire towards the truck, causing it to swerve before crashing and flipping over.

"No!" Alice yelled.

"What? Who was in there?" Frank asked, as Alice began to cry. "Who the Hell was in there?"

"Andy…" Alice managed to choke out.

"Oh, Jesus…" Frank gasped, before getting out from cover and shooting at Russo. "Bill, I'm gonna watch you die! You hear me?" Russo's only reply was unloading another magazine in their general direction, and he continued advancing towards the car.

"I'll distract him, while you sneak around and get the drop on him." Alice offered Frank.

"Hell no. This isn't your fight." Frank argued. "You don't even have a weapon."

"Come again?" Alice smirked, pulling out the pistol she took.

"Shit." Frank sighed. "Just stay out of harm's way. Let me take care of Russo. He's after me." Alice reluctantly nodded, and began to leave Frank, moving around the cars. Meanwhile, Frank hurdled the car, shooting Russo's shoulder and kicked the machine gun away. Billy still had a trick up his sleeve, and pulled out his wrist blade, slashing across Castle's shoulder and uppercutted him in the jaw, causing Frank to fall to the ground. Frank tried to get up, but Russo placed his foot on the Punisher's chest, keeping him down.

"Uh uh. You're not getting away, not this time." Billy sneered. Russo then stomped Castle in the face, knocking him out. A shot suddenly rang out, piercing Russo in the foot, and as he turned around, he saw a little girl with blonde hair, aiming a gun at him.

"Get away from him." the girl said, trying to calm her voice.

"Do you even know how to use that?" Billy asked, walking towards her.

"I just shot your foot." the girl stated, and as Bill walked closer, he noticed she was taking short breaths, and- was she crying?

"Kid, this isn't your fight." Russo told her, now at arm's length from the girl.

"Like Hell." the girl snarled, her hands shaking. "You killed Uncle Andy."

"Wait, you're Andy's niece?" Billy said aloud, then smiled. "Thanks for making this so much easier." As fast as a cobra, Russo slapped the girl's gun out of her hands and swiftly punched her in the temple, knocking her out instantly. Smiling to himself, Russo dragged both the girl and Frank back to the black van, where Ellis was waiting.

"Who's the kid?" Ellis asked.

"That's Barclay's niece." Russo answered. "Now we know Andy will take the bait for sure." Ellis smirked, and the two drove off back to the hideout.

Andy crawled out of the wrecked truck, just in time to see the black van leave.

"Fuck…" Andy groaned, recounting what had happened. He had gotten a call from Nica, telling him that Alice had left the apartment. He had gotten in his truck, looking around New York, when he suddenly noticed a heavily scarred Billy Russo shooting at Frank, who was sitting behind a car. As Andy had looked closer, he noticed that Alice was with him, and filled with fear, Andy hit the pedal to the floorboard. That's when Russo turned towards him, lighting up his truck and causing him to crash.

Andy slowly got back up, walking towards the last spot Frank was in, finding bullets, some blood, and two guns, one of which was his that Alice took.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Andy cursed, picking up the guns and pulled out his phone. Thankfully, that wasn't damaged in the crash. "Nica, I'm sorry. I couldn't get there in time. Russo has Frank and Alice."

 _Andy's Apartment_

Andy slowly entered the small apartment, and his face fell farther when he saw Nica, clearly distraught. Next to her was Karen, visibly shaking, but also looking somewhat angered.

"Is it true?" Karen asked. "Did Russo take Frank?"

"And Alice." Andy added, hearing an audible gasp from Nica.

"God, no…" Nica whispered, before looking up at her husband. "What do we do now?"

"I've been working on that." Andy revealed, thinking for a minute. When he finally came up with an idea, Barclay asked Karen, "Can David still access every camera in the city?"

"Worth a shot." Karen replied, knowing what he had in mind, and called up Lieberman. "C'mon, David, pick up, pick up."

"Hello?" a tired voice was heard.

"David, it's Karen." Page said into her cell. "Russo just kidnapped Frank. He also took Barclay's niece."

"What?" David nearly shouted. "He's still kidnapping kids?"

"Yeah, and we were hoping you still had access to the surveillance system." Karen continued.

"Karen, you and Frank know me. Of course I do. Just gimme a sec…" David trailed off, and Andy heard a few footsteps in the phone, as well as electronic noises. "...I'm guessing he's being held at my old hideout, on the outskirts. That's the only place that the cameras aren't showing anything. I'm texting you the address now."

"Thanks David."

"Wait, what are you going to do?" David asked.

"We're going to rescue my friend and my niece." Andy took the phone and spoke into it, before shutting it off.

"The Hell was that?" Karen asked, surprised at Andy's snap.

"I didn't need a lecture about the morals of killing." Andy said sarcastically.

"Or are you seeing Chucky right now?" Nica asked, looking skeptical. Andy glared, looking to the side of him, and sure enough, the doll illusion was standing in the corner, laughing.

"You might as well tell the truth, Andy." the doll giggled.

"I… yeah." Andy looked down. "And I haven't told you everything. The doll I keep seeing, it's not Chucky. It's me."

"What do you mean?" Nica asked.

"What's he talking about?" Karen also inquired.

"You remember when I told you and Alice that Chucky transferred my soul into the doll, and I almost became a killer like him?" Andy explained, taking a deep breath. "I'm seeing living memories of that version of me. It's a representation of my second greatest fear."

"And what would that one be?" Nica asked.

"Becoming a monster again." Andy looked at the floor, remembering those days in 1990. How he beat a teacher to death with a yardstick. Or later that night, when he hung his foster father in midair and snapped his neck.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we don't have time for this." Karen announced, walking towards her apartment. "We need to rescue Frank and Alice."

"Right, let's go." Nica began to get up, but Andy stopped her.

"Where are you going?" Andy asked.

"To help you guys. Alice is my niece." Nica replied.

"No. I want you to stay here." Andy told her.

"I want to help." Nica argued. "I don't want Alice to get hurt-"

"I can't lose you again!" Andy shouted, nearly shaking his wife by the shoulders. "I can't. After Chucky, and Foley… I just can't take that risk. I'm sorry." Nica looked at Andy, her face plastered with the expression of sadness.

"Just- just bring them back. Please." Nica pleaded, and kissed Andy. The kiss felt like it lasted an eternity, but they finally stopped when they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"I will. I promise." Andy replied, and turned around, seeing Karen with an AK-47, and wearing Frank's second vest with a white skull spray painted on it.

"Are we going to go?" Karen asked, handing Andy an extra bulletproof vest.

"Didn't know that fit you." Andy remarked, grabbing his 12 gauge shotgun.

"Wasn't going to walk in with just a skirt." Page replied. "Besides, it grew on me."

"Ready." Andy declared, loading his shotgun. "Let's go save your boyfriend and my niece."


	11. When It Rains, It Pours

As Andy and Karen made their way to the warehouse, Billy and Ellis were just finishing in tying up Frank and Alice.

"This should hold you for now." Russo smirked, wrapping chains around Frank's wrists, while Ellis tied Alice to a chair.

"Who the fuck are you?"Alice asked Ellis.

"That's quite a mouth you got." Mark noted. "Did Andy teach you that?"

"I learned that on my own." Alice smiled proudly. "How do you know Andy?"

"Didn't he or Tyler ever tell you about me?" Ellis asked grimly. "I was an old… acquaintance, back at Kent. But then he ruined everything when he got my best friend killed."

"You mean Brett Shelton?" Alice's eyes widened in surprise. "Tyler told me about that one! That was Chucky, he replaced the paintballs with live rounds!"

"It doesn't matter who did what!" Ellis snapped. "The only reason that damned doll was there in the first place was because of Andy. It's his fault all those people died, because wherever he goes, that doll and death follow him!"

"That's not fair!" Alice shouted, but Ellis had enough, and he picked up a rag and stuffed it in the girl's mouth, effectively gagging her.

"How the Hell did you even get out of that hospital?" Frank interrogated the man he once considered his best friend. "You were chained to the goddamned bed, with guards watching your every move!"

"And they really should've made sure which ones weren't paid off…" Billy grinned. "But hey, the money's green."

"You really think you'll get away with this, Bill?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, Franky, I do." Russo cooly replied.

"Then you have no idea what's coming, do you?" Frank asked his old friend. "C'mon, Billy, you and I saw Barclay fight back in Kandahar. He might as well be unstoppable."

"No one is unstoppable, Frank." Billy continued. "You of all people should know that, being the demon you are."

"If I'm a demon, then Andy would be the Devil." Frank retorted. "Just the other night, I watched him kill three men in a bar, with just a pencil. And now you stabbed him in the back, and kidnapped one of the ones he truly cares about. You've forced him back into a life that he wanted to desperately leave for almost thirty years. He had a glimpse of the light and embraced it, like all soldiers would, but you two just pulled him back."

"He was already back." Ellis reasoned. "He came back months ago, when he infiltrated Harrogate to destroy the doll."

"He came back to save the woman he fell in love with, not for this." Frank scoffed. "And now, he's coming for you. Just know that whatever happens here on out, it's on you." At that, Russo punched Frank in the temple, knocking him out for a while.

"I'm counting on it." Billy smirked.

Andy and Karen arrived at the rundown warehouse, on the outskirts of New York.

"Perfect place to hold someone." Andy observed. "There's no cameras around here."

"Or Russo tore them down." Karen mused, checking the ammo in the assault rifle. Andy looked around, trying to find anything that seemed out of place, and noticed that there actually was a camera in one corner.

"They know we're here." Andy whispered, pointing to the camera. With a small nod, the pair quickly ran to the outer wall, leaning on either side of an old rusty door. Andy peeked through the dirty windows, seeing a pair of soldiers patrolling around the place.

 _Three, two, one._ Andy mouthed, before he kicked the door open. The guards were only surprised momentarily, but it was enough for Andy to blow one of their faces clean off, while Karen destroyed the other with a hailfire of bullets.

Russo looked up from torturing Frank, hearing a shotgun blast and the distinct sound of an AK-47.

"He's here." Billy grinned, but then frowned. He didn't expect to hear two different weapons. So who was the other person with Barclay?

Andy and Karen made their way further into the hideout, picking off guards and anyone else who came across them. Andy blasted them back with his shotgun, while Karen's assault rifle peppered anyone else with bullets.

"I didn't know you knew how to shoot." Andy remarked, feeling a shotgun blast him in the back. As fast as lightning, Barclay turned around, pulling out his pistol and shooting the armored man in the chest twice, before firing a shot at his head.

"Three guesses on who taught me." Karen smirked, firing round after round into the men Russo hired. Minutes later, Andy and Karen were stepping over bodies, before finding one last soldier panting, and crawling towards his carbine.

"I don't think so." Andy declared, stepping on the man's hand, crushing it, and kicked the rifle away.

"You're not him." the man wheezed, coughing up blood, and looked up to see Karen wearing the skull vest. "You're not the Punisher… neither of you are."

"No, he's a friend." Andy grinned, before pulling out his pistol and firing a round between his eyes.

"This doesn't make sense." Karen said, more to herself.

"What do you mean?" Andy asked.

"Billy destroyed Anvil once he was exposed." Karen explained. "So where'd he find all these guys?"

"Maybe he paid them." Andy suggested, only for Karen to shake her head.

"Or maybe he's working with someone…" Karen mused. Deciding to worry about it later, Andy and Karen continued into the hideout, eventually finding Frank and Alice tied up behind some computers.

"My God, Alice!" Andy gasped, running over to his niece and ripping the gag off. At the same time, Karen ran to Frank and pulled out her .380, shooting the chains. "Are you okay?"

"Uncle Andy? You're- lookout!" Alice yelled, and Andy turned around, just in time to dodge a bowie knife from being embedded in his skulll. Andy used all his strength to keep the knife from his face, and looked at the man who tried to kill him. Meanwhile, Karen was helping Frank up, but Billy revealed himself, shooting Karen in the back.

"Hello, Barclay." the man had blonde hair, sporting a military buzz cut, and his eyes seemed to be full of malice. "Remember me?" At first, Andy didn't, but as he looked closer, he thought something clicked. Neither men noticed Alice was secretly freeing herself.

"Ellis?" Andy asked. "What are you doing here?"

"What's it look like?" Ellis spat, kicking Andy in the leg. "I'm here to kill you, after you got Brett killed!"

"That was Chucky, you asshole." Andy yelled, dodging another swipe from the knife and uppercutting Ellis. "He's the one who switched the ammunition!"

"But he followed you to Kent!" Ellis argued, throwing a right hook and catching Andy in the jaw. "Just like how he followed you to that foster home!"

"Then you should know that Chucky was the killer, not me." Andy reasoned, catching Ellis' fist and elbowing him in the ribs.

"He followed you, they're dead because of you." Ellis repeated. "Everyone you come into contact dies. Or, they're traumatized." With that, Ellis pulled out another knife, stabbing Andy in the thigh. Barclay screamed in pain, and Ellis kicked him in the chest, before pinning him to the concrete floor.

On the other side of the room, Karen and Frank were struggling with Russo, mostly due to Karen trying to protect Frank and fight.

"It was stupid, coming here." Billy sneered, slapping Karen's gun away and kicking Frank down. "But now, you'll die with Castle."

"Go to Hell." Karen snarled, doing her best to fight Russo in hand to hand, but he was clearly out of her league. Just as Billy was going to punch Page, Frank grabbed his foot and picked up a knife, stabbing his achilles tendon.

"You bastard!" Russo yelled in pain, kicking Frank in the face, but it gave Karen enough time to throw a punch, splitting Russo's lip and another broke his nose.

"Dammit!" Russo pulled out a pair of pistols, one aimed at Karen's head, the other at Frank's heart.

Ellis smiled, raising his knife, ready to cut off Andy's head. Barclay closed his eyes, waiting for his death, but instead, he heard Ellis scream in pain. Andy opened his eyes, seeing that Alice had somehow freed herself, and was now using a discarded switchblade to stab Ellis in the shoulder, causing him to drop the bowie knife. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Andy quickly scrambled to his shotgun, and in a swift motion, blew off Ellis' right arm with a single blast, prompting an ear splitting cry of pain.

"C'mon Andy, kill him." Andy looked to his left, seeing the doll of his hallucinations sitting in a chair next to the computers. "You've killed before. How is this guy different?" For once, Andy gave into the temptations, and aimed the shotgun to finish the kill.

Russo paused, hearing the shotgun blast and scream, and saw his companion missing an arm.

"Shit." Billy muttered, and shot the gun out of Barclay's hands. Seeing his chance, Ellis threw Alice off, and began limping away from the battle with Russo, who kept his guns trained on everyone.

"You'll die for that!" Ellis yelled, pulling out a grenade and throwing it.

"Mark, don't-" But it was too late, as Andy kicked it right back at them. Russo had only enough time to duck into the other room, while Ellis tried to dodge the grenade. Unfortunately, it exploded in midair, severely burning half of his face with it. Ellis howled in pain, and with all his strength, he and Billy left. With their attackers fended off, Andy, Alice, Frank, and Karen regrouped.

"Russo was right, Karen." Frank told her harshly. "That was stupid. What were you thinking?"

"Hey, you've been my guardian angel far too long." Karen pointed out. "It's about time I returned the favor. Besides, I had backup."

"I expected Andy to come here." Frank replied. "His niece was kidnapped."

"Uncle Andy, you're alive?" Alice asked, overjoyed. "I thought… you might be…"

"You're fine, right?" Andy interrupted, looking over Frank and Alice, and sighing in relief when he didn't see any major scarring. A few cuts and bruises, but other than that, they looked alright.

"I'm good." Frank replied. "You?"

"Never better." Andy smirked.

"Hey, guys…" Alice announced, pointing to the computer screens. "We're going to have company." Andy, Karen, and Frank looked at the monitors, seeing more of Russo's men beginning to enter the hideout.

"You still know how to shoot?" Andy asked Alice, tossing two pistols to her.

"You know I do." Alice snarkily replied. "You were there with Uncle Ronnie."

"Got your .380, Karen?" Frank asked.

"Yep." Page answered, handing the AK to Castle. "Do you want the vest too?"

"Hell no. Looks good on you anyway." Frank grinned.

"Let's finish this." Andy declared, loading his shotgun, and the small group split up on either ends of the hall, waiting for the ambush. Just before any of the soldiers were in firing range, Andy and Alice could have sworn they heard Castle mumble "One batch, two batch, penny and dime." One soldier got ahead of everyone else, but his reward for first place was a shotgun blast to the head by Andy. The next few minutes were complete chaos, with Frank, Karen, and Andy continuously firing at Russo's men, while Alice stayed behind Andy and took potshots here and there. Frank realized his fingers were starting to get numb from squeezing the trigger too much, while Karen received quite a few grazes in the vest, usually around the skull. Then again, that was what it was designed for; to direct attention towards the most armored area of the vest. After what felt like an eternity of shooting, it was finally over, showing the hideout littered with bodies.

"Anybody dead?" Andy asked, sitting down for a moment.

"C'mon, Barclay, get up!" Frank ordered, grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him back up. "We need to move." Karen led the way out, holding up her pistol in case anyone else was going to surprise them. Thankfully, Russo didn't send anyone else, but a man dressed in all black emerged, wearing a mask over his face that covered the eyes.

"Karen." the man sounded disappointed. "I had hoped I wouldn't be too late."

"You clearly are, Red." Frank grumbled hoarsely. "Oh, and I liked the red pajamas better."

"What, Matt?" Karen asked. "You knew that Frank was helping me improve my aim."

"But I didn't want you to have to actually use it." Matt protested. "I know this isn't you-"

"You never knew me, Matt." Karen snapped. "Just like how I never knew you. I'm done just waiting for someone to save me. This is my life, and I'm making my own choices."

"Great speech." Andy muttered, but he was keeping himself from smirking. "What the Hell took you so long anyway?"

"I was tied up at the precinct." Daredevil stated bluntly. "Wait, you didn't know?"

"Didn't know what?" Alice asked.

"Some guy attacked the police department, wearing a replica of my armor with the horns." Matt explained. "At the same time, a guy with a glowing red fist assaulted Harlem's Paradise, and tried to kill Luke Cage. Sound familiar?"

"It wasn't Danny though, was it?" Andy asked.

"No, but I think Rand knows him." Matt guessed. "Right after I fought off the imposter, Jessica called me, telling me that a crazy woman tried to assassinate Elektra."

"This has to be part of a larger plot." Karen told everyone.

"She's right." Andy announced. "Think about it: Russo kidnaps Frank and Alice, forcing Karen and I to come here. At the same time, Matt's occupied by a Daredevil imposter at the police precinct, this woman attacks Elektra, prompting Jessica to save her, while Danny goes to Harlem to assist Luke in fighting off a guy who apparently has similar powers as Rand."

"In doing so, it keeps all of us busy." Frank realized. "But what are we being kept from?" Just then, Karen felt her phone vibrating, and curious, saw an old friend's face light up on the screen. The name under the image read 'Foggy Nelson'.

"Foggy? What's up?" Karen asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"Cut the shit, Karen." Foggy said through the other end. "Is Frank there with you?"

"Yeah." Karen replied.

"Okay, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you need to stick with him." Foggy told her. "Some guy dressed up as Daredevil attacked the precinct, and all of Matt's friends got attacked tonight. The worst part is, someone who is bulletproof like Luke Cage ambushed an armored police truck, and whoever was in there escaped."

"Alright, thanks Foggy." Karen said, before shutting off her phone. When she looked back at the group, she noticed Matt's mouth hung open. "What?"

"Do you know who was in that truck?" Matt asked.

"Who?" Andy asked, confused.

"Wilson Fisk." Matt replied, attempting to sound calm, but everyone could see he was terrified.


	12. And Everybody Stumbles

_One hour earlier_

Matt walked through New York City, trying to locate Frank Castle. He had heard what had happened on the news, but unfortunately, he wasn't picking anything up with his enhanced hearing. Just as he began to lose hope, Matt heard faint chatter on a police radio.

"All units, head back to the department immediately! Daredevil is back, and he's busy killing our guys in there!" Matt frowned. Whoever was killing the police wasn't Daredevil, it was an imposter. Wasting no time, Matt raced back to his apartment, grabbing his old black costume, and made his way to the police department.

When Matt arrived at the precinct, he found Officer Brett Mahoney standing outside, trying to form a plan of approaching the situation. Once the cop saw the man in the mask, he drew his gun.

"Easy." Matt said steadily, holding his hands up.

"Oh, it's just you." Brett holstered his gun. "But if you're here, who's the other guy?"

"I have no idea." Daredevil replied truthfully. "Listen, I'll go in first, I'll try to subdue the guy. Give me ten minutes, then come in after me."

"Roger that." Brett nodded, and Daredevil went inside.

The first thing Matt noticed was the smell. Bodies were littered around the entire precinct, and Matt was nearly overwhelmed by the stench of now dead flesh and spilled blood. Once he finally arrived at the main office space, Matt crouched next to the door, trying to listen in on what was going on. Unfortunately, it was all but silent, except…

"C'mon, Devil, where are you?" the imposter asked, absently shooting at computers and desks. Slowly, Matt pulled out his billy club, and tossed it at the imposter, hearing a satisfying crack as the weapon slammed into the man's head. Daredevil smirked, jumping out of cover and catching the club.

"God damn you!" the imposter yelled, firing his weapon. Daredevil easily dodged the gunfire, trying to put his finger on what is was. The short burst, the speed of the rounds… a minigun?

"There you are." the imposter sneered in an english accent, trying to land a shot on the real Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Daredevil kept dodging the gunfire, using the club's cord to snare the imposter's hands and pull him forward, while he front flipped and kicked the man in the face. The pseudo Daredevil wasn't unskilled, however, and he quickly got back up and punched Matt in the face, once, twice, three times, causing blood to leak out of both Murdock's nostrils. Just as the imposter was about to knock Matt out, they both heard a gunshot coming from behind. Daredevil turned his head, 'seeing' Brett Mahoney in the doorway.

"That's enough." Brett commanded. "You're under arrest." The imposter smirked, swiftly grabbing a pen and flicking it at the cop, causing the projectile to stab Mahoney through the forehead.

"No!" Matt yelled, kicking the imposter off him. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Maybe next time, Devil." the man grinned, and he threw down a smoke bomb, disorienting Daredevil. Once Matt was able to focus, he rushed over to Mahoney, but it was too late, and he was already dead. Matt heard sirens, and he quickly left the precinct by heading out the back door, knowing he would be blamed for the murders.

Matt stood on top of a rooftop, hearing cops talking about how Daredevil had become a murderer. As Murdock turned away and began to walk off, he picked up something else. Matt focused, hearing what sounded like the voices of Frank Castle, Karen Page, and Andy Barclay. Growing concerned and excited at the same time for finally finding them, Matt hurried to where the three were, intent on helping any way he could. Along the way, he also heard the voices of Jessica, Elektra, Luke, and Danny, but for now, he decided that finding Castle was his top priority, then he could see if he could help anyone else.

 _Central Park_

While Matt was busy in Hell's Kitchen, Elektra tried to spend time in the park to think. She had always wondered how her life would have been if she wasn't trained at birth by Stick. Sometimes, Elektra closed her eyes, imagining how she would have been as a little girl, if she had a normal childhood. That usually included going to a park with friends, riding carousel, and eating ice cream in the summer.

Elektra's eyes snapped open, hearing footsteps behind her. Natchios ducked, narrowly missing a machete blade that could have cut her head clean off. Elektra rolled to the side, taking out her twin sai and facing her attacker. The woman wielded two machetes, wore all black combat gear, and wore fiery red hair in a ponytail.

"Who are you?" Elektra asked, confused.

"The last face you'll ever see." the woman replied coldly, slashing with the machetes. Elektra easily blocked and parried, eventually using her martial arts skills to jump up and kick the woman in the head.

"The battle is over. Yield." Elektra ordered, pointing her sai at her assailant.

"Not quite." the mystery woman pulled out a handgun from her boot, shooting Natchios in both legs. Elektra cried out in pain, falling, while the other woman got up. The woman pointed her gun at Elektra's head, asking, "Any last words?"

"Yeah." a voice was heard saying, and the woman turned around just in time to see a new person join the fray, slapping the gun out of her hands and kicking her away at a considerable distance. "Got room for one more?"

"Jones." the woman growled, picking up her machetes and charging the detective. Jessica dodged as best as she could, but she didn't have lightning reflexes like an assassin such as Elektra. For the most part, Jones ducked and dodged any blows that would be fatal, but the assailant exploited a weakness in Jessica's already injured shoulder, driving a blade straight through the old wound. Jones gritted her teeth, but she was forced to kneel on the ground all the same, while the woman rested her second machete on her neck.

"Time to pay for what you took from me." the woman sneered, raising the machete. "You can say hi to Kilgrave." The machete was lifted, but just before it could deliver the death blow, a sai was thrown, planting itself in the woman's wrist and causing her to scream in sheer pain. Seeing her chance, Jessica ripped the sai out and picked the woman up, throwing her yards away from her and Elektra.

"Get the Hell out of here." Jessica growled, as the woman got up. "Before I change my mind about letting you live."

"That will be your undoing, Jones." the woman vowed. "You will suffer for taking my sister from me."

"Whoever your sister is, I didn't kill her." Jessica quickly replied.

"I never said kill." the woman told her mysteriously. "Tell Patsy I said hi." With that, the woman disappeared into the shadows, leaving Jessica and Elektra alone.

"Need a hand?" Jones asked, helping the former Black Sky up.

"How did you find me?" Elektra inquired.

"I've been following you ever since I was able to get back up." Jessica revealed. "Wasn't sure if you were still planning on killing us."

"As you could see, I nearly got killed myself." Elektra pointed out.

"Who is that woman, and why would she want to kill you?" Jessica interrogated, slipping into private investigator mode.

"I do not have the answer to either of those questions." Elektra answered truthfully. "What about you? She acted like she knew you."

"Never seen her in my life." Jessica replied coolly. Just when she finished speaking, she felt her phone ringing, and confused because of the time, she answered. "Hello? Uh huh. Wait, what? Okay, we'll be over soon."

"Who was that?" Elektra asked.

"Barclay." Jessica replied. "He found his niece and Castle. Only thing is, at the same time, Matt was dealing with some guy cosplaying as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen and shooting up the boys in blue, while Luke got attacked by some asshat with another glowing fist. All the while, some other guy helped Wilson Fisk escape a prisoner transport."

"Then where are we going?" Elektra asked.

"An old barber shop in Harlem." Jessica muttered, with a hint of sarcasm. "I need a haircut…"

 _Harlem's Paradise_

Luke Cage was surprised. Harlem's Paradise hasn't been this busy in a while. And yet, no matter how many people were there, no matter how good the rap music in the background was, Cage began to feel empty inside.

"Hey boss." Cage looked up, seeing Sugar enter his office. "The Carbones are here to discuss business in their territory."

"Tell them I don't have time tonight." Luke mumbled, pouring himself a glass of Bushmaster rum. It was said to be the smoothest tasting rum ever created, made by two men who were now dead. Nevertheless, the alcohol still stung Cage's throat.

"Yout want me to make up some bullshit?" Sugar asked. "Is this because of that white boy earlier today?"

"Don't push it, Sug." Luke warned, downing the rest of his glass.

"I'm just sayin', maybe that crazy cracker was right." Sugar pressed. "You're friend was injured, and ya didn't show."

"I said enough!" Luke squeezed the empty glass in anger, effortlessly shattering it. Being bulletproof, the glass didn't cut his skin, but it still shocked him all the same. Luke looked up, seeing Sugar's eyes widen in surprise, and quite possibly fear. "Sorry, man."

"Hey, I get it." Sugar assured Cage. "Running this bitch ain't easy, and that guy probably rattled you."

"Maybe he was right though." Cage mused. "Maybe I have lost my way." Before he could contemplate how he had changed over the last few months, screaming could be heard, and both men looked over the balcony, confused at what was going on. Down at the main floor, a man with a nearly bald head and a beard was fighting the security, and as Cage looked closer, the man's right fist was glowing red. With a single punch, the man sent one of the Paradise's guards flying across the room, coating the opposite wall with blood.

"Sweet Christmas." Luke muttered, before handing Sugar a piece of paper. "Call Danny Rand."

"How can that rich white boy help?" Sugar asked, confused.

"I know Rand, trust me, he can help." Luke replied, before taking off his jacket and meeting the man. By now, everyone had cleared out of the nightclub, leaving just the two of them.

"Who the Hell are you?" Cage asked.

"My name is Davos." the man replied. "And I'm here to kill you."

"Good luck trying." Luke smirked, and attempted to punch Davos. Unfortunately, the smaller man was much faster, able to dodge all his attacks. He even used palm strikes on Cage, and while they did no physical damage, it was enough to surprise him.

"I've seen this fighting style before…" Cage said, growing suspicious as he attempted to throw a chair at the other man.

"With Danny Rand." Davos reminded him, flipping over Luke and landing behind him, trying to choke the man out. "Before I fight my opponent, I study them. I know all about you. How you are nigh unbreakable. How you met Danny. And how you helped him in defeating the Hand."

"You're from that place where he got the glowing fist." Cage realized, grabbing Davos by the arm and tossing him off, dropping him on the floor.

"Kun Lun." Davos confirmed, getting up forming his hand into a claw, sharply tapping his fingers on Luke's neck and collarbone. When that clearly didn't work, Luke advanced, picking him up by his jacket.

"What was that supposed to do?" Cage smirked.

"I was merely testing the waters." Davos replied mysteriously, before closing his fist, and it began to glow red.

"Sweet sister." Luke grumbled, too late to stop Davos from punching him in the face. The force of the blow forced Cage to drop his attacker, as he flew across the nightclub and into the stage, destroying the mics and speakers. Just as Davos was walking towards Cage, the entrance to the nightclub opened, and in walked three familiar faces.

"I hope I'm not too late to the party." Danny Rand joked. "But you're still open, right?" Rand smiled, but the grin soon faded, when he saw who was attacking his old friend.

"Davos?" Danny asked, seeing the man he once considered to be a brother to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to make you pay, brother." Davos told him ominously. "You let Kun Lun fall."

"Wait, this was all to get Danny here?" Luke asked. Davos ignored Cage, and charged Rand, jumping up and attempting to kick him. Danny rolled to the side, sweeping his leg around and tripping Davos, but as he went down, he performed a backflip, landing on his feet like a cat. All the while, Luke was slowly getting up.

"I didn't fail my mission, Davos." Danny tried to explain, while the two countered attacks. "The Hand was destroyed."

"But at the cost of Kun Lun. Our home." Davos argued, catching Danny's fist and bringing his elbow down on his arm, attempting to break it. In the nick of time, Rand blocked the attack, and his leg lashed out, catching Davos in the chest. "You didn't even know the Hand was in New York. You left our home for selfish reasons."

"I admit, I was selfish in my actions." Danny revealed. "But I can't change the past."

"No, but it has decided your future for you." Davos lighted his fist up, and attempted to punch Danny. Thinking on pure instinct, Danny ignited his Iron Fist as well, and as the two energy charged fists connected, a shockwave occurred, sending the two flying in opposite directions and shattering anything made of glass in the nightclub. Cage was the first one to get up, helping Danny back to his feet, and the two approached Davos.

"Yield." Rand commanded. "The battle is won."

"This isn't over, little brother." Davos warned. "This is only the beginning." With that, Davos threw down a flashbang supplied to him by Billy Russo, and by the time Luke and Danny's temporary blindness was gone, Davos was nowhere to be seen.

"For what it's worth, it's good to see you again." Luke told his friend.

"Yeah, you too." Danny responded. "Not digging the crime boss though." Before the two could hash it out, Luke's phone began ringing, and concerned, he answered this.

"Is this Luke Cage?" a familiar voice said.

"Who is this?" Luke asked.

"Andy Barclay." the voice answered. "I'm the guy you met earlier today, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. What do you want?" Cage asked, deciding not to hide his anger.

"We need to talk. Wilson Fisk has escaped." Andy told the King of Harlem. "He was broken out of a transport by a man with similar powers as you, at around the same time a Daredevil imposter attacked the Hell's Kitchen police department, and Jessica tangled with some woman carrying a few machetes around. And from what I heard, you were attacked by a guy with a glowing red fist right around now, right?"

"Yeah, Danny's here with me." Luke confirmed. "Where should we meet?"

"Pop's Barber Shop." Barclay quickly replied. "From what I understand, that place is Switzerland, isn't it?"

"Yes it is." Luke muttered, before shutting his phone off. "C'mon, Danny. Time for a reunion."

 _NoMad_

 _Five Minutes Earlier_

Wilson Fisk sat patiently in the prisoner transport, waiting for the right moment.

"Cat got your tongue, you fat tub of lard?" one of the guards joked, while his buddy laughed. Still, Fisk said nothing. He remembered the last time he was in a transport. He had told the guards a story about how he always believed himself to be the good Samaritan in a biblical story, helping a traveler who was beaten and robbed. But now, he realized that he was the robber, the man with the ill intent who did wrong to the traveller. With that epiphany came the cold decision that New York didn't deserve being saved, and he abandoned his mission to help the people of Hell's Kitchen.

Wilson Fisk's train of thought was interrupted, when he felt the transport was lifted a few inches off the ground, and slammed back down.

"What the Hell?" the guards asked, while one of them exited the vehicle to check what was going on. Once the door opened, the guard came face to face with a man in a hoodie, who proceeded to lift him up with one hand and throw him across the length of the street. When the guard finally landed, a sickening crack was heard, indicating the man was, at the very least, severely concussed.

"Holy shit!" the other cop exclaimed, pulling out his pistol and began shooting. Unfortunately for him, the bullets simply bounced off, while the guy in the hoodie just stood there.

"Cage?" the cop's eyes widened, before he turned the gun on Fisk. "I'll shoot this fat bastard. I swear!" Seeing his opportunity, Fisk lunged, grabbing the gun and snapping the man's arm. As the officer screamed, Wilson grabbed his neck and twisted his wrist, instantly snapping the guard's neck.

"It took you long enough, Mister Stryker." Fisk barked.

"I had to make sure Carl and everyone else were occupied." Willis replied, and upon hearing sirens, announced, "Time to go, unless you'd prefer going back."

"Agreed." Wilson stated, and the two began walking towards Hell's Kitchen. "What is the status of the rest of our mutual friends?"

"They all failed." Stryker said bitterly. "They didn't kill any of these so called 'heroes'."

"They weren't supposed to." Fisk reminded Willis. "They were meant to provide a distraction."

"Either way, Walker didn't kill the ninja bitch." Stryker continued. "Jones showed up in the nick of time. That dude with the glowing fist barely scratched Carl. Actually, I'm glad for that, I want to kill him myself, but he called up Rand. Lester got the Devil's attention, but I guess getting a building dropped on you doesn't slow you down after all."

"I was expecting Murdock to survive." Wilson mused. "And what of Russo and Ellis?"

"They lost Castle. Russo made the mistake in kidnapping someone's niece." Stryker reported. "As a result, her uncle and that woman who works for the Bulletin killed everyone in that warehouse, and Ellis lost his arm."

"Where are they now?" Fisk asked.

"Russo took Ellis to Rand. Meachum is already fitting him with a cybernetic, like that cop in Harlem." Stryker replied. "They'll catch up later. Everyone else is waiting in your penthouse, like you and Russo planned."

"Excellent." Fisk grinned, and they continued on to Hell's Kitchen.


	13. Defenders Reassemble

Luke and Danny walked into the barber shop, quickly finding out they were the last ones to make it. Jessica propped her head on her arms, waiting at the table next to the door, while Karen Page and the man the media dubbed the Punisher leaned against a wall. The guy who barged into Harlem's Paradise, Andy Barclay, sat in one of the barber's chairs, looking exhausted, with a little girl who Cage assumed was his niece sitting next to him. But what caught his eye was Matt Murdock, laying on the floor, clearly bloody and tired, while a woman he had introduced as Elektra cradled him.

"Murdock's alive?" Cage asked, shocked to see the blind lawyer.

"You'd know that if you weren't busy playing the mob boss." Frank muttered. Annoyed, Luke started to approach Castle, but Danny held him back.

"Hold on." Rand said. "We're all on the same side."

"Then what's she doing here?" Cage pointed to Elektra.

"She saved my life the other night." Jessica replied, standing up. "Then I paid her back an hour ago."

"How the Hell did either of you survive?" Luke asked. "We collapsed a building on top you!"

"And I pulled them out." Punisher answered. "I sent Red to the Clinton Mission Shelter, and his girlfriend to St. Vincent's Hospital."

"So, you all had your own problems tonight?" Danny asked, and everyone else nodded.

"Yeah, and it all happened conveniently at the same time." Karen grumbled. Luke and Danny looked closer, noticing Karen was wearing the Punisher's skull vest.

"That was their plan all along." Andy announced, getting up. "While we were being occupied at different parts of New York, someone freed Wilson Fisk." Before Luke could ask who, they all heard the door open to the barber shop, and in walked a younger man and a woman with a cybernetic arm.

"Hey, Luke, I didn't think you'd be here-" the kid stopped, seeing everyone. "Whoa, what's with all these white peeps here? And Danny Rand is back?" Luke ignored the young man, and instead focused on the woman.

"Not now, DW." Cage muttered. "Misty? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Mercedes Knight replied coldly. "Just ten minutes ago, Wilson Fisk escaped transport. Witnesses claim they saw a black guy in a hoodie help him out, and when the driver and guards fired, bullets bounced off. Sound familiar?"

"Misty, it wasn't me." Cage insisted. "I would never work with a man like Fisk."

"Given your track record lately, excuse me for finding that hard to believe." Misty spat angrily.

"He's right. I vouch for him." Danny spoke up. "We were at Harlem's Paradise during that time, and Davos attacked us."

"Who the Hell is Davos?" Misty asked.

"He's my brother." Rand said, without blinking. "Or at least, there was a time I would have considered him to be. But he has somehow gotten the power of the Iron Fist."

"I thought you were the immortal Iron Fist." Luke pointed out.

"I am." Danny protested. "But you saw what Davos did tonight. That can only mean he stole it from someone else. The question is who?"

"Hang on, what the fuck is the Iron Fist?" Andy asked. "Is that what the glowing hand is, or a sex toy?" That last comment earned a chuckle from Frank, and Jessica attempted to hold back a smirk.

"Hey, no swearing in here." DW lectured, holding out a can labeled the swear jar. Barclay simply rolled his eyes, putting a one bill in the slot.

"The Iron Fist is a manifestation of my chi." Danny explained. "We all have it. Chi flows through everyone and everything, and holds the universe together. I was gifted the fist after I plunged my hand into the heart of Shao Lao the Undying. He's a dragon from Kun Lun."

"Sounds like the Force from Star Wars mixed with Game of Thrones." Alice snickered.

"I'm starting to like your niece by the day." Jessica grinned.

"Regardless, every cop in New York are looking for you." Misty warned. "They're also looking for the Devil of Hell's Kitchen."

"Matthew did nothing wrong." Elektra protested, standing up and advancing towards Misty, who pulled out her gun.

"The police department in Hell's Kitchen was shot up by a guy in a red and black costume." Knight told everyone. "Everyone thinks it was Daredevil."

"Is there anyone else who's being hunted, Mercedes?" Frank asked.

"It's _Misty_ , Castle." Misty muttered threateningly. "And yeah, they're looking for all of you. Cage and the Devil for the reasons I just mentioned, Jessica because they witnessed you throwing another woman across Central Park, and Danny- forget that, they're just looking for a guy with a glowing fist. They don't care if it's you or not. They're also looking for the Punisher because he killed that old lady in the nursing home."

"Wait a minute, that woman attacked her and I!" Jessica shouted, indicating herself and Elektra.

"And Frank didn't kill Carla Russo, that was Billy." Karen added.

"What about me?" Andy asked. "Are the cops searching for me?"

"Yep." Misty sighed. "They're going after you over the attempted robbery the other night, then the bar fight that turned into a triple homicide." While Knight was speaking, the doll with Andy's voice materialized in front of Barclay.

"You really gonna take that, Andy?" the doll asked. "Those robbers at the shop deserved to die!"

"You're right, they did." Andy mumbled.

"Wait, who did?" Alice asked.

"And those assholes at the bar?" the doll taunted. "They tried to make a move on your wife and your friend's lady! You gonna let that cyborg looking bitch talk shit?"

"No, I won't." Andy declared, and he began to walk over, but felt someone grab him by the arm. Barclay looked down, seeing Alice was trying to hold him back.

"I don't know what you're thinking of doing, but don't." Alice suggested. "You saw Chucky again, didn't you?"

"No." Andy told the truth. "I saw me."

"What's that mean?" Jessica asked, and Andy looked up, seeing everyone was staring at him. Taking a deep breath, Andy decided to tell everyone the full story.

"Back in 1990, Chucky succeeded in transferring his soul into my body. In the process, my soul was placed into a good guy doll." Andy told everyone.

"Jeez, are you still going with the 'Chucky did it' story?" Misty asked.

"You've seen me light up my fist." Danny reminded her. "Can you really rule it out?"

"As I was saying, when I inhabited the doll, my darkest thoughts were unleashed." Andy continued. "I eventually took my body back, but before that happened, I killed two people, my school teacher and my foster father."

"Wait a sec." Karen interrupted. "I read an article about a double homicide in the Chicago suburbs. Did you-"

"Yes." Andy confirmed. "That was me."

"What does this have to do with the current situation?" Luke asked, getting annoyed.

"Because ever since I killed those robbers at the pawn shop, I've been having hallucinations of a certain doll." Andy revealed. "At first, I thought it was Chucky, but I found out it was really me. Or at least, my darker side." For a few moments, no one made a sound, until Matt finally spoke.

"Can you handle it?" Murdock asked. "Can you keep it under control, and not get distracted?"

"I assure you, I'll be fine." Andy told the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

"Then for now, what will we do?" Alice asked, worried.

"You all need to rest." Misty pointed out. "Speaking as your friends, and not a cop, you've had a long night, and you'll need to come up with something to fight this." With that, Knight left, leaving everyone else to to make their next move.

"Your niece is right though." Karen declared. "What will we do?"

"I'm thinking on that." Andy mulled the situation over, before getting an idea. "Karen, write an investigative article about this night, to draw Fisk and his 'superfriends' out. Jessica, help Karen out with this, and try to investigate what Fisk is up to."

"A please wouldn't go amiss." Jessica groaned.

"Danny, see if you can use Rand Enterprises to pretend to work with Fisk." Andy continued. "As far as I know, he still owns Confederated Global. Luke, give ownership of Harlem's Paradise to someone else, but get them to deal with Fisk's organization."

"And what about Red and I?" Frank asked.

"It's time for Matt to reveal he's still alive." Andy decided. "If any of us get arrested and put on trial, we'll need a lawyer. Oh, and figure out who got their hands on your suit. As for you Castle, I'd suggest you and Elektra lay low, but interrogate some of Fisk's men on what he's up to. I'll join in when I'm able. Any questions?"

"Sounds good to me." Jessica smirked, raising a bottle of whiskey.

"Hey D, got any spare merch left?" Luke asked, and he was met by DW tossing him a hoodie, colored black on the outside, yellow on the inside. "Thanks." Cage began taking his suit off and putting the hoodie on, while making a call to Sugar about the future of Harlem's Paradise.

"Great. Now let's go home. I need a nap." Andy finished his speech, and everyone left the barbershop one by one, save for DW.

"Hey, next time, do something badass so I can get it on film!" DW called out, before realizing what he said. "Aw, man. Sorry, Pop." The young man walked over to the counter, pulling out a one dollar bill and dropped it into the swear jar, before leaving Pop's Barber Shop for the night.

 _Rand Enterprises_

 _One Hour Ago_

Billy Russo burst through the doors of Rand, half dragging Mark Ellis with him. Wasting no time, Russo dragged his companion over to the receptionist desk.

"We help, and fast!" Billy ordered. "Tell Meachum we need assistance!"

"Aren't you Billy Russo?" the receptionist, a woman named Katie, asked, squinting. "I'm calling the police."

"You will do no such thing." Russo turned to the left, seeing a woman with short brown hair walking towards them. "And Mister Russo is expected."

"Understood." Katie replied, but frowned while Russo, Meachum, and Ellis entered an elevator and left the lobby.

 _Now_

Ellis woke up with a gasp, laying on what seemed to be a hospital gurney. Mark looked to his sides, seeing Russo facing him on his left, with Joy Meachum on the right.

"What the Hell happened?" Ellis asked.

"We brought you to the lab, and put you under." Joy explained. "You were losing too much blood." Ellis chuckled, and was about to raise his arm, but felt something was off. Cautiously, Mark looked over to where his right arm used to be, and found the shape of an assault rifle covered in skin was attached to the arm's stump.

"What the fuck have you done to me?" Ellis yelled.

"We gave you a prosthetic." Russo told him. "As Joy said, you were losing too much blood. We could have given you a regular cybernetic arm, like that bitch cop in Harlem, but where's the fun in that, when you're now literally a gun?"

"You mean…" Ellis thought it over. "This thing actually works?"

"Sure." Meachum confirmed. "Just point and shoot." Mark smirked, but then remembered his other injury.

"What about my face?" Ellis asked.

"It… was far too damaged for even skin grafts to fix." Russo picked up a mirror from the table, showing Mark's face, where the right side was now horrifically scarred. "And I couldn't offer anything, because, you know."

"Yeah, yeah." Ellis sat on the bed, deep in thought.

"So, what are you gonna call yourself?" Russo asked.

"What?" Mark's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Now that you're 'reborn', you might as well change your name." Russo suggested. "Diamondback has already nicknamed me Jigsaw, and I'll admit, it's growing."

"Well, I do have an idea." Ellis grinned. "Back at Kent Academy, Brett Shelton and I were once discussing guerrilla warfare from the Civil War, where Confederates would keep themselves hidden somewhere and ambush the Yanks when it was hidden."

"And, what does this history lesson have to do with any of this?" Joy Meachum asked, but soon recoiled as Ellis' smile grew wider.

"The warfare was termed as Bushwacker." Ellis simply told her.

 _Good Guy Doll Factory_

Andy opened his eyes, looking directly up at a sneering Good Guy doll. The doll looked down at Barclay, confused, until several drops of blood exited the nose and landed on Andy. Startled, the doll held out his hand, realizing the blood came from him, and with pure fury, released a scream that could be heard throughout the factory.

"You little shit! Do you know what you've done?" Chucky accused. "It's too late! You put my soul back into this body, and now, I'm fucking trapped in here!"

"Can you really blame me?" Andy found himself asking, as boxes of dolls fell onto Chucky.

"Andy, come on!" Kyle shouted above. "I'm assuming it's you again, so we need to go!" Barclay nodded and quickly joined Kyle, where they tried to find a way out of the factory.

"Jesus, this place is a maze!" Kyle exclaimed, when suddenly, movement caught her eye. "Wait, what was that?" Andy looked around, and what he saw made him gasp. All around the factory, every doll was beginning to break out of their boxes.

"Kyle, run!" Andy shouted, and after hearing his voice, he realized he was a child again. Andy and Kyle ran as fast as they could, but the dolls jumped down, separating the two and holding them down.

"Andy, get out of here!" Kyle shouted. Those quickly became her famous last words, as the dolls swarmed her, completely burying Andy's foster sister. Barclay attempted to fight the dolls off him, but it was two much. The most he could do was hold the one directly in front of him by the throat, but he was still struggling.

"C'mon Andy, submit!" the doll laughed a maniacal cackle. Andy's blood turned cold, as the doll was using his own voice. "Just roll over and surrender, so I can be free!"

Andy woke up with a gasp, accidentally rolling over and tumbling out of bed, also waking Nica in the process.

"Honey, why are you up?" Nica mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "It's four am."

"Sorry." Andy whispered. "Another nightmare."

"Look, if you want, we'll talk about it in the morning." Nica promised, yawning. "But you need to rest." Andy silently agreed, and as he was climbing back in bed, he found himself staring at the doll hallucination, who was standing in the doorway.

"Listen, old buddy, I wasn't trying to kill you. I just wanted to kill your mind." the Andy doll tried to clear up. "So, we cool? We still best friends?" Barclay didn't answer, instead pulling the covers over his body and shut his eyes as tight as he could, not wanting to see the nightmare anymore.


	14. Enter the Cabal

Mark Ellis, now christened as Bushwacker, and Billy Russo walked into Wilson Fisk's penthouse, where Davos, Willis Stryker, Bullseye, Mary Walker, and Fisk himself were patiently waiting.

"What the Hell kept you guys?" Diamondback asked.

"As you can see, we've been busy." Jigsaw replied, pointing to Ellis' cybernetic arm. Russo then squinted at Fisk, noticing he was wearing a pale white suit with a purple shirt underneath. "I see you have too."

"Mister Stryker and I took a trip to Harlem while we were waiting." Fisk explained. "It was amazing they could make a suit in my size. Bulletproof, too."

"I'm more impressed that you came up with the whole scheme by yourself." Stryker remarked.

"That's because he didn't." Everyone turned around, seeing a woman with dark hair enter the penthouse, holding onto a thin but long briefcase. "I sent the shipping container Hancock 212. I had also hired Walker to spy on the vigilantes, and suggested to my fiance to call in Lester."

"It's Bullseye, lady." Bullseye grunted. "And who's the hot one?"

"Vanessa." Fisk answered, but not to the assassin. In an instant, Wilson closed the distance between them, and wrapped Vanessa in a warm hug. "Welcome back."

"It's good to be." Vanessa replied, before their embrace ended. "I have something for you, Wilson." Fisk looked down, seeing Vanessa open the briefcase, and inside, was a cane, the shaft colored jet black, with a white orb on the end.

"Thank you, Vanessa." Fisk said truthfully.

"It is not just to look vain, Wilson." Vanessa explained. "You point the end at anything you wish to obliterate, and it will be made so."

"In that case, a demonstration is in order." Fisk decided. "Mister Stryker, if you could?" Willis smirked, stepping in front of Wilson, then backing up. Fisk raised the cane, pointed it at Diamondback, and as if the cane read his thoughts, a beam of blue energy shot out, knocking Stryker back and causing him to fly into a wall.

"Shit." Willis muttered, getting up and catching his breath.

"Where did you get such power?" Davos asked, intrigued.

"Judas bullets were not the only weapons Hammer Industries created after the Incident." Vanessa replied.

"If we're done getting new toys, we still have work to do." Walker announced.

"Walker's right." Bushwacker agreed. "We weren't able to kill anyone of the 'heroes'."

"No, but they soon won't matter." Fisk declared. "I have plans beyond these pitiful Defenders."

"Like what, buying suits and pimped out weapons?" Bushwacker asked, snickering.

"No. During my stint at Ryker's, I had some time to reflect." Wilson revealed. "I remember a man in one of the cells, Dutton. He had told me there's only room for one kingpin in there. I see that is also the same here."

"So, you're endgame is taking over the criminal underworld?" Davos asked.

"Precisely." Wilson replied. "In order to, as they say, curb crime, you must control it. You cannot grind it to a halt, like the Daredevil or the man with unbreakable seem to believe. No, you have to tame it, make sure it doesn't spiral into chaos. Luke Cage knew this. After all, while else would he end up sitting in the very seat the Stokes used to command Harlem?"

"But you have Hell's Kitchen." Russo pointed out. "The Punisher killed off the rivals mobs."

"Unfortunately, Castle only destroyed the Dogs, the Irish, and the Cartel. Even an old friend of mine could not rid every rival gang." Fisk muttered angrily. "Once Madame Gao and her organization were destroyed, they left a power vacuum in New York. One that I wish to fill."

"You will go to war with everyone else in New York?" Bullseye asked.

"As I told Mister Castle, I am not aiming to wage war." Wilson said. "I am to win one."

"And why can you not be satisfied with simply killing the Devil?" Davos asked.

"Because Daredevil stands with giants!" Fisk explained. "And I am choosing to do the same. However, since I cannot have an iron suit or unbreakable shield, you all will have to do. This was meant to be a, shall I say, call to arms. A chance to accomplish together what each of us could not do alone. The moment I learned that Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Danny Rand were working together to destroy the Hand, I knew I could not beat him on my own."

"So, what, we just a 'super team' now?" Willis remarked. "We got some stupid name too, like the 'Masters of Evil'?"

"I don't like labels that much, Mister Stryker." Fisk said truthfully. "But if you must, I much prefer the Cabal."

 _Karen's Apartment_

Frank's eyes fluttered open, momentarily surprised that for the first time, Karen had woken up before him. Feeling like he slept in, Frank stared at the red numbers on the bedside alarm clock. Eight am. Though he was still feeling sore from the previous night, Frank got out of bed, finding Page staring out the apartment window.

"Mornin." Frank tried to say, as cheerful as he could. Karen didn't respond, and instead, continued staring blankly outside.

"I could've lost you last night…" Karen choked out, and at that moment Frank realized Karen had been crying. "I was afraid you'd be gone… oh God…"

"You didn't though, Karen." Frank reminded her. "I'm here." Frank attempted to put his hand on her shoulder, but Karen flinched.

"I killed again last night." Karen sobbed. "I don't even know how many." Frank stopped, staring at Page, while she folded her arms over her chest, looking as if a gust of wind could blow her away. Seeing her like this made Frank's heart ache.

"Does that make me a monster?" And suddenly, Castle felt his heart shatter all over again. In an instant, Frank wrapped his arms around Karen in a bear hug.

"Don't ever think that Karen." Frank whispered in her ear. "Don't you dare. You are one of the best women- the best _person_ \- I have ever known. You have a big heart, and I love you because of that reason. After my family was taken from me, I thought I couldn't find love again, but you proved me wrong. God dammit, you're the light to my darkness, and I don't want you to think you're anything less." Karen began crying into Frank's chest, while Castle patted her shoulder, trying to calm her. Just then, the two heard knocking on their door.

"Hey, I'll get it." Frank left to put an undershirt on, while Karen wiped her tears. Once Frank opened the door, he saw that it was only Barclay, who raised his fist, about to knock again.

"Thought you guys should be up by now." Andy commented tiredly. Frank looked down, noticing that Alice was also with him. "It's time we get to work, and find out what Fisk is up to."

"And you're sure that whatever is in your head right now, you can handle it?" Frank asked.

"I'll be fine." Andy promised.

"Hey, how come I can't see this?" Alice asked. "I transferred my soul into a doll too."

"Honestly, I don't know." Andy admitted. "Maybe it's because you only killed one person as the doll. Maybe you were only in the doll for a brief time, where I almost got stuck in there permanently."

"Either way, we need to get back on that later." Karen announced, getting ready for work. "I need the Bulletin to spread the word on Fisk."

"Hey, before you leave, just know you're not a monster." Andy told her. "You only killed because you were forced to. I killed two people in cold blood."

"You're not a monster either, Andy." Karen replied. "Being in that doll tempted you, and played on your darkest thoughts."

"Hang on, how'd you know we were talking about this?" Frank's eyes narrowed.

"Thin walls." Alice shrugged.

"What are you doing here with Barclay?" Castle then asked.

"Well, since your girlfriend is going to work, and everyone is trying figuring out what Fisk is up to, I was hoping you could take me to the shooting range today."

"I'd think last night was a pretty good crash course." Frank smirked.

"I actually didn't fire my gun too much." Alice revealed. "Andy's fine with it." Frank stared at Barclay, who simply grinned and shrugged, while Karen was trying hard to stifle her laughter.

"Ah, Hell, I don't have anything to do today anyway." Frank decided, and took one of his assault rifles. "Let's go, kid." Alice smiled, and the two began to leave.

"Hey, what about interrogating pieces of shit?" Frank asked, turning back to Andy.

"I'll handle that." Andy promised, loading his own pistol. "Time to find out what Fisk is planning." With that, Karen and Andy also left the apartment, intent on getting to the bottom of this new sinister plot.

 _Saint Patrick's Cathedral_

Matt Murdock always saw himself as a religious man. He might not go to church every Sunday, but he did find time to speak to his lord. Murdock even spent time confessing his sins to a priest at least once a week, mostly due to said priest being one of the few people who knew of his… night job.

Which is why Matt found himself sitting in the confessional booth that morning, still dressed in his black costume and mask, with dried blood caking his nose down to his upper lip. Thankfully, Father Lantom did not ask questions. Or he had seen the news about what happened to the police department.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned." Matt confessed. "Or rather, I will sin."

"You know this isn't how this works, Matthew." Lantom scolded.

"I know, but please forgive me." Murdock continued. "I once believed that justice could be found in a court of law, or in the light of day. But I was fooling myself. Darkness only responds to darkness. And the truth is- I'd rather die as the Devil, than live as Matt Murdock."

"And what has changed you in this way?" Lantom asked.

"Last night, the evil escaped captivity." Matt revealed. "It took everything I could to stop it last time. You can suffocate evil. Starve it. Even lock it behind bars. But it'll find a way to come back, stronger than ever. And there's only one true way to end evil: to finish it for good. Make permanent. It's time to finally let the Devil out."

"You're talking of murder, Matthew." Lantom tried to reason, but he heard Matt get up and walk away. Lantom exited the booth, looking around, but saw no one else in the cathedral but himself.

"God have mercy on you." Lantom whispered. "May God have mercy on you."

Matt walked out of the church and made his way back to his apartment, sticking to back streets and alleys to avoid suspicion. Once he finally arrived, Murdock was just about to go through the door, when an explosion rang off, temporarily deafening him. Matt covered his ears, screaming and writhing on the ground in agony, but what horrified him even more was that he felt the heat was too close to him. With a dawning realization, Matt discovered that it was his own apartment that exploded. As Matt began to hear sirens in the distance, he ducked in an alley near the apartment complex, taking off his mask for a moment and tried to listen to the voices.

"Was it a gas leak?"

"Seems plausible. It doesn't look like it could be anything else."

"What about a bombing?"

"We don't have witnesses."

"Hey, chief! Look what I found! Daredevil's red pajamas in one of the apartments!"

Murdock's blood ran cold. There was no way his suit was in his apartment. The suit was destroyed after Midland circle. That could only mean one thing…

"Fisk knows who I am." Matt gasped

 _Rand Enterprises_

Danny and Colleen Wing walked into Rand Enterprises, being met by Katie at the desk.

"Welcome back, Mister Rand." Katie greeted with a smile. "It's been a while since you've even set foot in here."

"You can just call me Danny." Rand told her. "I'm just here to open up a partnership with Confederated Global Investments."

"Oh, since you've been away, we were already partnered with them." Katie replied.

"Wait, what?" Colleen asked.

"Confed Global has protected the company when we decided to invest in cybernetics, such as giving your friend that arm." Katie revealed.

"Does Joy know about this?" Danny asked. "And is she here?"

"Joy was the one who started the partnership." Katie informed. "And she's in her office."

"Thanks." Danny and Colleen bid the receptionist farewell and left, taking the elevator several floors up.

Danny and Colleen arrived at Joy Meachum's office, throwing the glass door open. Joy looked up, startled.

"Danny!" Joy stammered, but kept a calm composure. "Colleen! It's been a while."

"Likewise, Joy." Danny muttered. "I heard that Rand partnered with Confed Global."

"Yeah, we did- on cybernetics." Joy reminded the two standing up. "Where do you think we got the investment money?"

"You didn't really say." Colleen pointed out, being the only one to notice Joy was shifting away from the computer. "We just rolled with it for the moment, because we were helping out a friend."

"Then why are you concerned now?" Joy asked, throwing a glance at her computer. Upon seeing her eyes darting, Colleen strode over to the laptop.

"What's on there?" Colleen asked.

"Just work." Joy mumbled quickly. Catching on, Danny began walking over to her desk as well, until Joy put herself between them.

"Danny, please don't." Meachum requested. "I don't want you to see that."

"Joy, you're acting strange." Danny commented. Rand tried to push past her, but Joy pulled out a gun. In an instant, Colleen smacked the weapon out of her hands and quickly incapacitated Meachum by holding her arm behind her back. Satisfied he could get to work, Danny began flipping through files and memos. Most had information he already knew, such as Confederate Global was run by Wilson Fisk, and that the company invested in cybernetics on behalf of Rand Enterprises. What caught Danny's eye, however, was the blueprints of a new cybernetic, seemingly attaching an assault rifle to a prosthetic arm. Rand flipped through one more file, finding a list of names. Danny scrolled through the list, seeing most of the names were ones he knew of, and names of friends. Matthew Murdock. Jessica Jones. Luke Cage. His own name. Frank Castle. Friends such as Karen Page, Trish Walker, and Foggy Nelson. Andy Barclay and his family, as well as the Liebermans. Upon seeing Colleen's name, Danny began to grow weary, and he scrolled all the way down, finding the name Carla Russo, highlighted in red.

"You're working with Wilson Fisk." Danny realized. "Why Joy?"

"Because you lied to me about my father." Joy explained. "Both you and Ward did. And then you two killed him."

"Your father went insane after the Hand resurrected him." Colleen reasoned.

"I know Harold wasn't the best, but he was still my father." Joy continued. "And I had to lose him twice."

"So you decide to work with Fisk and Davos?" Danny snapped. Joy simply smirked.

"You can't stop them." Joy warned. "Soon enough, you won't be a problem anymore." Colleen sighed, and punched Meachum in the back of the head, knocking her out.

"C'mon, Danny, we need to go." Colleen urged. "We need to tell everyone about this."

"Wait, we need this." Danny declared, downloading all the information on a thumbdrive. Once the download was complete, he said, "Alright, let's get out of here. We'll go to the Bulletin first."


	15. Bushwacker

Alice and Frank walked into the gun store, striding over to the counter. Without looking at the man selling the weapons, Castle slapped thirty dollars down next to the register.

"Range. The girl, and me." Castle said gruffly, turning away from the counter and heading through a set of double doors, revealing an indoor shooting range. "Keep the change." Anything the owner would have said was inaudible, as the doors shut behind the two.

"Still got your pistol?" Castle asked.

"Sure do." Alice grinned, showing her piece. "You got something, right?"

"Hell yeah." Frank took off his large coat, showing his assault rifle. "Whaddya want to start with?"

"Smaller one first, I'm more familiar with it." Alice replied. "After a few rounds, we'll switch. Deal?"

"Absolutely." Frank set the targets a considerable distance away, and Alice began popping off caps, ignoring the headset she was supposed to wear. After firing five rounds, Frank brought the target back, showing that the eighth ring was hit three times, and the nine and ten were hit once.

"Not too bad." Frank complimented. "Didn't you practice at Kent?"

"Not all the time." Alice replied. "Uncle Ronnie told me that when he was my age, he wasn't allowed to shoot guns much either."

"Well, I'm here now." Frank pointed out. "Wanna try the AK?"

"Hell yeah." Alice grinned, picking up the assault rifle. Frank smirked, pressing a button on the wall and sending a new target back, while Alice readied herself with the rifle. After a couple seconds of waiting, Pierce squeezed the trigger. Alice had known about the recoil on weapons, and depending on the type and size, the kickback could be greater. Nevertheless, nothing prepared for her shoulder to feel dislocated, and the the gun was forced to aim up. With a cry of shock, and a slight bit of pain, Alice backed up, but Frank quickly came to her aid.

"Hey, you okay?" Frank asked.

"I didn't expect it to have this much recoil." Alice grumbled, still wincing.

"It's an assault rifle, what _did_ you expect?" Frank asked, raising one of his eyebrows. Alice shrugged, trying to steel herself, and picked up the rifle again. She was about to fire at the paper target again, but Frank put his hand on the barrel, gently lowering the gun.

"What're you doing?" Alice asked, a bit irritated. "I don't want to stop!"

"You don't need to prove anything." Frank told her. "You already did when you fought with Barclay, Karen, and I last night."

"I still want to shoot this, though." Alice insisted, gripping the assault rifle as if it was a keepsake. Frank simply sighed, deciding not to waste energy on arguing.

"Alright. But at least let me give you advice before you start up again." Frank suggested. "You'll want to aim down sights. And close you non dominant eye."

"But Andy told me he was taught to shoot with both eyes open." Alice protested.

"That might work for him, and if someone's very experienced, but for now, close an eye." Frank explained. "It'll make sure not to throw off your shot." Alice reluctantly shut one of her eyes, and got into a proper shooting position, and squeezed the trigger again, firing multiple rounds. After holding onto the trigger for five seconds, Alice released, and Frank brought the target back, showing most of the shots landing in the ninth circle, with a few reaching the bullseye marker.

"Better." Castle commented. "Wanna go another round?"

"Nah, I think I'm done for today." Alice decided, giving Frank his gun back. After thinking for a few moments, Pierce asked, "Hey, what was that one thing you said last night? One batch, two batch, penny and dime?"

"You heard that?" Frank asked, and Alice nodded. Frank sighed, sitting in a chair, before recounting his story.

"It was her favorite book. My daughter, Lisa's. It was her favorite. Now, I was never scared when I was in Afghanistan. Even when I watched my friends, my brothers, die on the battlefield, I didn't feel anything. Nah, I felt more scared on the plane home. So I finally come home, I pick up Lisa from her school, and that's when I finally realized I was tired. I was too tired to do anything. Couldn't take Maria to bed. I couldn't play catch with my son, that kind of shit. I was even too tired to hold a god damned beer. You've been tired before, right, Alice?"

"Yeah." Alice whispered solemnly.

"So you get it." Frank continued. "I couldn't do shit. But Lisa, she was up. She wanted me to read to her. She wanted me to read that book. _One batch, two batch, penny and dime_. I used to read her that every night, before I went overseas. But not that night. I said no, because I was too tired. She begged and pleaded, and I still told her know. I promised her that I'll read to her tomorrow night. But there wasn't a tomorrow, not for her. Not for Frank Junior, or Maria. The last time I saw her, she was laying dead in my arms. Alice… how old are you?"

"I'm twelve." Alice replied, beginning to tear up.

"She was your age when she died." Frank looked down at the concrete floor. "Meat was spilling from her. Where her face and heart should have been. I have no family now." Frank then buried his face in his hands. If he was crying, Alice couldn't hear it, and she walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You're not alone, Frank." Alice told Castle. "You have the Liebermans. I could tell from speaking with Leo and Zach they see you as an uncle, like how I see Andy. Speaking of, you know Andy, Aunty Nica, and I will have have your back. Not to mention your friends like Daredevil, Danny, Luke, and Jessica." Frank looked up, genuinely smiling for what felt like the first time in forever.

"You sound smarter than your age." Frank complimented. "Now I have a question for you: are you sure you're not seeing anything, like Barclay is? And don't try to lie." Alice and Frank stared at each other for a long while, not unlike a staring contest, before she spoke.

"No." Alice answered. As Frank sighed, satisfied with the answer, she added, "But I am still having nightmares of Chucky. They've gotten worse since I found out that Uncle Andy is hallucinating."

"Nightmares are normal." Frank brushed it off. "I'd be more concerned if you didn't get night terrors from being traumatised like that. Hell, I get nightmares from time to time. But hey, if they really are a problem for you, I could find something to help."

"What about Hypnocil?" Alice asked. "I researched that it can make you have dreamless sleeps."

"Sure, but the side effects include hallucinations and addiction, which could lead to heart attacks." Frank pointed out. "Besides, the last time anyone heard of it was in 1987, when an asylum in Ohio tested it on their patients." Just then, Castle's phone rang, prompting him to answer.

"Hello? Oh, hey. Yeah. What! Okay, I'll meet you there." Castle quickly shut off his phone, with a grim look on his face.

"What happened?" Alice asked, knitting her brows in confusion.

"That was Rand." Frank explained. "He's already called Red, your aunt, and Cage. We're supposed to meet them at the Bulletin with Karen and Jones."

"What about Andy?" Alice asked.

"That's part of the problem." Frank told her, as they exited the gun store. "He never answered his phone."

 _New York Bulletin_

Karen walked towards her office, being met by Ellison.

"Did you hear the news last night?" Mitchell asked. "Wilson Fisk escaped transportation!"

"Yeah, I heard." Karen grumbled. "And at the same time, there was a crime wave in the entire city."

"Oh, and the Punisher was seen, again." Ellison's voice turned edgy, as he laid a photo copied picture from a street camera. "You knew again, didn't you?" Karen looked at the image, seeing the likeness of Frank and Barclay's niece hiding behind a car, while Russo aimed a machine gun at them.

"Yes…" Page said slowly.

"Who's the little girl?" Ellison then asked.

"She's just a friend." Karen told him. "Did you hear anything about the other attacks last night?"

"I should ask you that." Ellison pointed out, noticing a few bruises and cuts still on Karen's face. "What did you do after Castle was captured?"

"I… don't know?" Karen attempted to say, but Ellison narrowed his eyes, seeing right through her.

"C'mon Page, just tell him what happened." Ellison and Karen looked to her right, seeing Jessica Jones covering the distance between them. "Don't be coy. Tell him you and Barclay saved your boyfriend and his niece."

"That was his niece?" Mitchell asked, sounding worried. "Isn't Barclay responsible for dozens of murders, not including the six from the past couple days?"

"That wasn't Andy, that was the doll!" Karen harshly corrected.

"And even if it was him, there hasn't been any proof." Jessica smirked.

"Jessica Jones." Ellison furrowed his brow. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to help Miss Page on an article." Jones replied.

"Speaking of, did you find anything?" Karen asked, while Ellison left to work on something else.

"Unfortunately, not much." Jones informed. "Russo and these guys are good. I haven't found Fisk anywhere. But I did figure out something from a lone muscle on the way here. There's some new guy out there calling himself the Kingpin, and he's planning on moving on the other gang's territories. How much you wanna bet that's just Fisk?"

"What's the point if we're both right?" Karen grumbled, beginning to write out her article about the attacks. "Got any ideas for a headline?"

"How about, 'Evil Super Team Plagues New York'?" Jessica asked snarkily, taking a gulp of her whiskey.

"Or 'Cabal Frees Wilson Fisk'." Karen looked up, seeing Luke Cage enter the Bulletin.

"Name sounds better." Jessica commented, in between drinking.

"It's the name some thug gave me before I got here." Cage shrugged. "The guy said that Fisk is calling himself the Kingpin now, and he's united our enemies to form some type of cabal."

"Huh." Karen simply said, and continued typing. A few minutes later, Page heard footsteps approach, and she looked up again, seeing Danny Rand and Colleen Wing, but then noticed that Frank, Matt, Nica and Alice were also with them.

"What is it?" Karen asked, not trying to sound annoyed.

"Danny called us." Matt announced. He had barely enough time to slip out of his black suit and into his lawyer attire.

"Yeah, not sure why though." Nica added. "It's not like he told us."

"And Uncle Andy still hasn't called back." Alice said sadly.

"I called because you all have to see this." Danny told her, pulling a flash drive out of his pocket and shoving it into her computer, causing multiple windows to come up. Karen was about to close them all, but noticed one of the windows containing a blueprint for a cross of an assault rifle and a prosthetic arm, labeled as manufactured by Hammer Industries, and produced by Rand Enterprises. The next one, the one that practically begged for Karen's focus, was a list of names. Karen's eyes widened, once she saw that her name was at the top, just under Matt Murdock's and Franklin Nelson's. As she scrolled down, Karen found that the list contained the names of friends and family of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Frank Castle, and Andy Barclay as well, in addition to their own names. With a look of horror, Karen saw the the date the list was created was on February 7th, 2015, and the date last updated was December 17th, 2017.

"Where did you get this?" Karen asked, wide eyed.

"We found it on Joy's computer." Colleen answered. "She's been working with Fisk, but we don't know for how long."

"What is it?" Luke asked, taking a look at the screen. "Sweet Christmas."

"It's a list of us, and everyone we care about." Danny revealed. "We need to keep everyone safe at the precinct."

"Didn't you try that when the Hand attacked?" Frank pointed out. "And this is Fisk we're talking about. Who knows if he still has cops in his pockets?"

"Good point." Karen agreed. "But I know someone who can help."

"What about Andy?" Alice asked.

"I've been trying to reach him for an hour." Nica told her niece. "He's not picking up."

"Then try again. Please." Alice pleaded, and Nica complied, dialing Andy's number once more.

 _Harlem_

For the longest time, Turk Barrett tried to get back on the straight and narrow. He was assaulted by the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, roughed up by Luke Cage, tangled with Jessica Jones, and was almost murdered by the Punisher. If anything, he was trying to get out of the game.

That all changed when he found himself sitting on a park bench, and heard someone walk up behind him.

"Turk Barrett?"

"Hey, man, I ain't done shit-" Turk was just turning around, when whatever was behind him grabbed him and slammed his head into the bench. "Hey, watch it!" Turk quickly got up, sizing up his attacker. The man was wearing a light blue jacket, over a white shirt, and had an unshaved beard. He was also holding a gun.

"Hey, aren't you that Barclay guy?" Turk asked, recognizing the man. "The guy who killed three thugs in that pawn shop?"

"Yeah, and you're known as the biggest rat in New York." Barclay growled. "Since you know the word on the streets better than anyone else, tell me about Billy Russo."

"You mean the guy with the cut up face?" Barrett asked. "He goes by Jigsaw now. I've even sold him a few arms myself."

"'Jigsaw'? That sounds original. Does he set up traps too?" Andy remarked, but then realizing what the criminal said afterward, he grabbed Turk by the throat. "Wait, you've been dealing with him?! What are he and Fisk planning?"

"I don't know man, I don't know!" Turk yelled.

"Wrong answer." Andy warned, throwing Barrett on the ground and crushing his hand underfoot. "What are they planning!"

"Okay, okay!" Turk pleaded. "I'll tell you! Fisk is calling himself the Kingpin, and he's looking to take over the other gang's territories. The Greeks, the Hatchets, the Bratva, Aryans, Carbones, even the former Stokes family, he's going after all of them. Not to mention the fact he's already seized the former turf of the Dogs, Irish, and Cartel. Word is, Fisk is planning on meeting with all their leaders, tonight."

"Where's the meeting?" Andy snarled. Before Turk could say anything, gunshots rang out, and bullets began careening around Barclay and Turk.

"Shit!" Barclay cursed viciously, ducking behind the bench while Turk ran away in fear. Whoever was attacking Andy was focusing on him, as he paid no attention to Barrett running like a coward. Barclay briefly stood up, firing a few rounds, and he got a good look at who, or what, was attacking him. It appeared to be a man around the same height as Andy, but half his face seemed to be burned off. The next thing that caught his attention was the assault rifle that was seemingly apart of his arm, and the blonde hair that was now in a mess.

"Miss me, Barclay?" the man growled. Suddenly, Andy's mind clicked.

"Ellis?" Andy asked, stunned. His shock left him vulnerable, and Ellis shot him in the shoulder.

"Mark Ellis died when you cut his arm off and blew him half to Hell!" Ellis screamed. "My name is Bushwacker."

"That sounds fucking stupid!" Andy shouted, taking cover behind the bench, while Bushwhacker began approaching. Just as Bushwacker could be heard right in front of the bench, Andy jumped up, smacking the prosthetic to the side, whereas in that moment, Bushwhacker began firing, and he saw in his peripheral vision that a couple innocent civilians were gunned down. Andy gritted his teeth in anger, dodging a punch from Ellis and kicking him in the back of the legs, forcing him to kneel. Andy proceeded to knee into Bushwacker's face, sending him laying on his back, and planted his foot on the assault rifle, beginning to rain punches on the former Major. With every punch, he saw flashes of Kent Academy, when Ellis and Shelton dragged him through the mud.

"Come on, finish him!" Andy suddenly looked up, seeing his doll counterpart cheering him on. "You've killed pieces of shit for less!" Andy picked up his gun, aiming it at Ellis' face, and trained himself to shoot the man. Barclay waited long and hard, but he just couldn't do it, and breathing heavily, he tossed the gun away.

"You should've taken the shot." Bushwhacker grinned, and activated a flashbang. The explosion blinded Andy, and he felt himself being kicked away and landing on the ground. Once the black spots and blinding light faded, Andy got up, finding Bushwacker was nowhere to be found, and innocent civilians lay dead close to where he and Ellis fought. Andy was about to leave, but he suddenly heard sirens, and several police cars pulled up. The door to the lead car opened, and Misty Knight walked up to him.

"I should've known one of you guys would be involved in this." Knight shook her head.

"Officer Knight, you have to believe this wasn't me." Andy told her.

"You think I don't?" Misty asked. "Unfortunately, I can't just let you go, because I was forced to come with backup. I'm sorry, Barclay, but you'll have to play along." Misty walked over, instructing Andy to place his hands behind his back.

"I know my rights." Andy grumbled, as he was handcuffed and shoved into the backseat of Knight's squad car. "This isn't the first time I've been in the back of a cop car." As the car began driving towards the police department, Andy heard cackling in the seat next to him, and became startled to find the doll sitting next to him.

"So disappointing." the doll chastised. "I was hoping you'd kill him."

"And I was hoping you'd leave if I didn't." Andy grumbled, hoping Knight didn't hear him. "At least, Jessica told me that's how it worked for her."

"Do I look like some limey cocksucker like Kilgrave?" the doll asked, grinning. "You can't get rid of me, Andy, because I'm you. I guess that makes me your worst nightmare."

"No." Andy whispered, but averted his eyes in that moment. "You're nowhere close."

"Bullshit." the doll cackled. "Your worst enemy is yourself. Guys like Chucky, Tiffany, Ellis, Russo. They all come second place in destroying you. I should know, because I'm in here. You- we- are the one enemy you can't kill." the doll pointed a finger to Andy's temple, laughing maniacally, while Andy simply stared with a horrified expression for the rest of the ride back.


	16. A Dark Day in New York

Andy woke up in an interrogation room, feeling the cold of the metal table. Standing up, Andy walked over to the double mirror, staring right through the center.

"I know you're there." Andy announced, narrowing his eyes. "Misty, right? Why don't you come in and start asking questions." A few moments later, Andy heard the door open, and turning around, he saw Knight walk in.

"Sit down." Misty ordered, to which Andy complied. "How the Hell did you know exactly where I was?" In truth, Andy didn't know she was actually there, let alone in that specific spot, but she didn't know that.

"Lucky guess." Andy muttered.

"Anyway, my Deputy Chief just gave a rundown on all the shit you did back when you were a kid." Misty told Barclay, opening a file. "Like at Kent, or Chicago. This has to be the… fourth time you've sat in a room like this?"

"Skip all the past bullshit." Andy snapped. "What am I looking at?"

"Don't jump the gun, Barclay." Misty warned. "Trust me, I'm on your side for this one. It was only after the Incident that I started to actually second guess the reports about you blaming your doll. Chucky, right?"

"Yeah." Andy answered with a clear disgust. "I'm glad I finally sent the fucker to Hell for good."

"And what about that scene last night at the barber shop?" Misty inquired. "You looked like you were about to clock me after I talked to you."

"Listen, Detective, I don't need a psychiatric evaluation." Andy suddenly said, standing up. "Now if you don't have anything else for me, either let me go, or get me a lawyer."

"Sit down, we're not done." Misty ordered, slamming her cybernetic arm on the table, created a sizeable dent. "I'm trying to help you, dammit!" After glaring at the cop for a while, Andy finally sat down.

"Sorry." Andy grumbled sheepishly. "I'm just not sure what I can do right now. I don't even have a lawyer." Just as Andy finished, the door opened, and a man with long hair and a suit walked in.

"Mister Barclay, you can stop talking now." the man said.

"Who are you?" Andy asked.

"My name's Franklin Nelson. You can call me Foggy" the man answered. "We have a mutual friend in Matt Murdock."

"Couldn't come himself, huh?" Andy smirked. Foggy frowned.

"Wait, he's alive?" Nelson asked.

"Surprise." Andy said coyly.

"Okay, I'll have to sort that out another time." Foggy decided. "But right now, Chief Ridley is trying to have you arrested for multiple accounts of murder."

"How many are they ringing off?" Andy asked.

"Ten, to be exact." Foggy began looking at a paper. "Three guys you gunned down in your own pawn shop, the three at the bar, and the last four were from earlier today."

"But the first three I acted in self defense." Andy reasoned.

"Look, if played right, you could be portrayed as a trigger happy gun nut." Foggy replied. "And that's even assuming it'll reach court."

"What's that mean?" Andy asked.

"Ridley is trying to get you thrown into Ryker's." Misty spoke up. "I don't know why, but she just is."

"And we've only covered the first three accounts." Foggy reminded the two. "The next three, the ones you killed in the bar, I can't think of a way we could spin this."

"Aside from that they attacked me first." Andy revealed.

"Were there witnesses?" Foggy asked. "Aside from your wife, the Liebermans, the Punisher, and Jessica Jones."

"What's wrong with any of them?" Andy asked.

"For one, David went missing for over a year." Misty listed off. "I shouldn't even explain why Castle and Jones can't testify."

"Yeah, being a couple vigilantes doesn't really hold up well in court." Foggy added. "But if we can play it the right way, we could get you off on PTSD-"

"Fuck no." Andy interrupted. "I don't have any triggers like loud noises or explosions."

"I wasn't talking about those." Foggy told Barclay, and Andy realized what he meant. "Look, if we can't find any way to fight this, you will have to be hauled off to prison."

"Which we'll have to do anyway." Misty told them. "Whoever the prosecutor is, they scheduled your trial in a week."

"Seriously?" Andy asked, dumbfounded. "Even you have to admit, this smells funny."

"I do, but even if Ridley is-" Misty fumbled for words, then spoke in an almost whisper, "-in bed with Fisk, so to speak, we don't have evidence."

"Then have Cage find it." Barclay pressed. "Look, if I have to be carted off, can I at least see my family?"

"Your wife is just outside." Misty told him. "Your niece, though, is at a safehouse run by Homeland Security."

"What, why?" Andy asked.

"You didn't know? Danny found a list of names on one of Rand Enterprises' computers." Misty explained. "On that list is everyone associated with Daredevil, Jessica, Luke, Danny, and Castle. That includes you and your family, Foggy, and even me." Andy's eyes widened, and he quickly stood up, being led out the interrogation room and finding Nica right in front of him, who looked like she was about to cry.

"Andy, I tried calling you." Nica told her husband. "I tried explaining what was going on. What happened?"

"Ellis came back." Andy told her. "He's going by Bushwacker now, and got a prosthetic overnight. He's the one who killed four people today, when he and I got into a fight."

"It's kinda funny." Nica tried stifling a chuckle.

"What is?" Andy asked.

"That we were worried that Castle was being framed, when we didn't realize it was you." Nica explained. Andy froze, the plot now dawning that this could have been what Fisk wanted all along. But why?

"And now you're being arrested?" Nica jumped to the point, looking angry.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I've been here before." Andy assured his wife. "Just keep Alice safe." Andy kissed Nica one last time, before Misty put handcuffs back on him, taking him outside the precinct and leading him into a squad car, beginning to drive him to Ryker's Island. Just as he was about to doze off, the doll with his own voice popped out from the passenger's seat, grinning at him.

"Aw, you're not going to sleep, are you?" the doll asked, snickering.

"What do you want now?" Andy whispered through gritted teeth.

"Oh, nothing much." the doll said casually. "Just for you to let me drive for once… oh, and I want you to make a confession."

"What?" Andy said out loud.

"I want you to confess a deep, dark secret." the doll continued. "I mean, I already know it, because I'm a part of you, but you need to know." Andy's eyes began to close, and he fainted.

"Oh don't worry." the doll could be heard cackling. "You don't have to say it now. Because where we're going, we'll have plenty of time." The last thing Andy heard before he lost all consciousness was seemingly his own evil laughter, as the squad car kept driving.

 _Safe House_

Nica walked into the safe house, finding she was the last person to get there, aside from Misty. Sitting around in the main room were Alice, the Liebermans, Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, Colleen, Claire Temple, and Jessica Jones, who was speaking with a blonde woman a man with short hair. Before Nica opened her mouth, Alice ran up, hugging her aunt.

"Is Andy really going to prison?" Alice asked, looking tired, angry, and sad, all at the same time. Nica took a closer look, noticing that her niece's eyes had bags, as well as they were bloodshot red. "And don't lie to me, Aunty Nica. Please."

"Yes, he is." Nica said sorrowfully. Pierce then looked up, seeing a woman approach her that neither Alice nor Nica knew.

"Who are you?" Nica asked.

"I'm Special Agent Dinah Madani." the woman introduced herself. "Miss Page called me and sent me the list of all of your names. You should all consider yourselves under witness protection."

"Bigger house than last time, Madani." David Lieberman remarked, while his kids giggled.

"Hey Alice, could you go play with Leo and Zach for a moment?" Nica asked. "I need to speak with Jessica."

"If it's about Andy, I'm staying here." Alice said adamantly.

"It's not about Andy." Nica promised, and walked over to Jones, who was still talking with the other two people.

"Hey." Nica announced herself, causing Jessica to turn towards her. "Where's everyone else?"

"Luke and Danny are trying to figure out how their brothers are playing copycat with their powers." Jessica answered nonchalantly. "Frank and Matt's ex are laying low. They're probably still hunting any of Fisk's men."

"And Matt?" Nica asked.

"He just left." Jessica told her. "He and Nelson got into a heated argument about coming back to life and not telling anyone. I think I heard him say he was going to find out who got his suit."

"Thanks for introducing us, Jess." the blonde haired woman grumbled. "I'm Trish Walker."

"Malcolm Ducasse." the man extended his hand. "And I still don't see why you want either of us here, Jessica."

"Because no matter how much bad shit is between the three of us, I don't want you guys to die." Jessica told them. "And I need answers from Trish."

"What, you ignore me for months, and now you need my help?" Trish scoffed.

"Yeah, because a woman with red hair attacked Matt's ex and I last night." Jessica explained. "She told me I took everything from her, and then told me to ask you about it." Trish looked down, seemingly deep in thought.

"Did she say her name was Mary?" Trish asked.

"She didn't give me her name." Jessica said. "Do you know her?"

"If her name was Mary, she might be my older sister." Trish revealed. "Back when I was a child star, Mom neglected Mary, driving her into depression. Sometimes, if I listened closely, I could hear Mary speaking in her bedroom, as if someone was there with her. Right before we adopted you, Mom sent Mary to Birch Psychiatric Hospital, to cover up that one of her kids might have an illness. The last I heard of her, she broke out several years ago, and hadn't heard from her since."

"And now she's blaming me for all the shit in her life." Jessica put two and two together, pulling out a bottle of whiskey. "Terrific."

"You don't know if she's working with the Kingpin." Trish quickly defended her sister.

"Guess I'll just have to ask her myself." Jessica snorted, and continued drinking. "Would make sense. Both of us have lousy moms, and both of us have murderers for sisters-"

"I did what I had to do!" Trish hissed, trying not to cause a scene in the safehouse. "If I didn't kill Alisa, the cops would've killed both of you!"

"It doesn't change the fact that you still killed my mother." Jessica snapped, and with one last glare, walked away. Nica stared blankly, deep in thought, before getting an idea on how to get Andy back.

"Excuse me, Agent Madani?" Nica spoke up. "Can I go back to my apartment? I… forgot to pick up something for my niece."

"What did you forget?" Madani asked, confused.

"She forgot my vintage Good Guy doll." Alice chimed in, looking over and winking at her aunt. "He's my friend til the end!" Nica tried hard not to laugh, the both of them knowing full well that they would trash anything that even remotely looked like Chucky at this point.

"Alright Miss Pierce. Agents Bowers and Dourif will accompany you." Madani declared, signalling two men to go with Nica. As the three were leaving, Nica turned back to Dinah one last time for final words:

"It's Barclay, actually."

 _Melvin Potter's Workshop_

Melvin Potter was found hunched over at his workbench, furiously welding together some type of suit of armor when Daredevil found him. Matt began to approach the man, but right when he got too close, Melvin turned around, swinging a hammer at him. Murdock easily dodged, and before Potter swung again, Matt grabbed his wrist in midair

"Melvin, stop!" the Devil commanded. "It's me!"

"We all thought you were dead." Melvin gasped, recognizing who it was by the sound of his voice. "When Fisk broke out, there wasn't anyone to protect Betsy…" Potter choked back a sob, and Daredevil realized the designer had been crying.

"Melvin, what happened?" Matt asked. "I need to know. Who wore a suit to look like me? Did you make it?" Melvin took a deep breath, then looked at the man in the mask.

"Wilson Fisk's lawyer came to me a couple weeks ago. He said he knew I made your original suit, and he wanted me to create a replica." Melvin told Daredevil. "He never said what it was for, but he threatened that if I didn't do what he said, Fisk would give the order to kill Betsy."

"Did he say anything else?" Daredevil asked, only for Potter to shake his head.

"The other night, just hours before Fisk escaped, some guy with scars all along his face showed up." Melvin continued. "He said he was a friend of Fisk's, and he was collecting 'the Devil's suit'. After I gave it to him, he showed Betsy's head!" Melvin broke down crying, and Daredevil did his best to comfort the broken man.

"Melvin, it will be okay. I promise." the Devil of Hell's Kitchen tried to say.

"Just promise me you'll kill Fisk-" Melvin never finished his sentence, as the crack of a gunshot was heard, and a bullet tore through Melvin's skull, splattering his blood across the floor, while another penetrated Daredevil's shoulder. Matt cursed viciously, throwing himself to the floor and internally cursing himself for not sensing the gunman. He tried focusing his other senses, but with the injury he sustained, he could only conclude that the shooter was miles away. With nothing else he could do, Matt crept out of the workshop, swearing vengeance on the Kingpin.

Miles away from Melvin Potter's shop, nearly on the edge of Hell's Kitchen, was Bullseye, perched on a rooftop. With professional ease, the assassin with perfect aim discharged the sniper rifle, letting the bullet casing fall into the streets below.

"Another loose end tied up." Lester grinned, before leaving.

Daredevil quickly left Melvin's workshop, only to find that several of Kingpin's men were waiting for him on the roof, with Fisk himself in front of them. Taking a deep breath from his tiredness, Daredevil began to attack, but felt someone, or something, hit him from behind. Matt quickly recovered, fighting back against whatever was behind him, somehow, he couldn't hear their heartbeat. More of Fisk's men joined the fray, shortly overwhelming the Devil of Hell's Kitchen by beating him into submission. As Murdock lay on the roof, knocked out, Fisk himself began beating on Matt mercilessly, ending when he tore his mask off.

"The Devil is broken." Fisk declared. "Make it look like an accident." Taking the order, the rest of Fisk's men dragged Daredevil all the way to the ground outside, locking him in a taxi car next to the Hudson River.

"Time to send the Devil to Hell." Fisk sinisterly joked, as his men doused Matt and the car in gasoline, before he and Fisk's men pushed the car into the river.

Matt woke up and struggled in the car, attempting to break free, as the vehicle sunk lower and lower. Finally, out of options, Murdock repeatedly punched the windshield, shattering the glass and causing water to seep in. Acting quickly, Matt furiously swam out of the car and breached the surface, gasping for air. Despite his injuries and feeling weak, Matt used the last of his strength to pull himself towards the docks of the Hudson, where after pulling himself onto the wooden pier, he collapsed from the stress and lack of sleep, losing all consciousness.


	17. Kingpin Rising

Sugar walked into the warehouse with several thugs, finding that he was the last crime boss to make it to the meeting. It just felt so abrupt, with Cage simply calling to tell him he was the new head of Harlem's Paradise for the time being. Sugar looked around the table, seeing all the other crime families sitting around him.

"What are we waiting for?" the leader of the Hatchets, Hai-Qing Yang, asked out loud. "It has been almost an hour."

"The man who set up this meeting promised to show up." Rosalie Carbone reminded everyone, then looked at Sugar. "Did you call this?"

"Nah, Cage just gave me control today." Sugar replied. "Guess he got some beef to figure out."

"Did anyone here call this meeting?" Yang asked, standing up. While the other organizations murmured in disagreement, the Hatchet leader angrily said, "Then I don't see any point in staying."

"Sit down, Mister Yang." a commanding voice ordered. Yang stiffened, as did everyone in the room. The knew that voice, and had heard the news from the other night. Yang involuntarily recoiled, and shrunk back in his seat.

Wilson Fisk entered the warehouse, one of the remaining neutral facilities in New York, with the rest of his Cabal, minus Bullseye, following in after him. Fisk strode to the table, sitting down in a vacant seat, and looked everyone dead in the eye.

"I called this meeting." Fisk announced, and heard several whispers, as well as a few gasps from the other crime families. "It's time to talk business."

"What do you propose?" Carbone asked, curious.

"Let's start by looking back three years ago." Wilson began. "The cops, the lawyers, and the judges wouldn't dare cross any of us, because they were all on our payroll. That all changed, and it's because of one reason. Coincidentally, the same reason why you have your meetings in the middle of the day."

"And what reason would that be?" Yang asked, growing suspicious.

"Simple, the rise of vigilantes." Fisk answered. "These… 'heroes', they have played judge, jury, and if need be, executioner. The men on our payroll were exposed, and they became the new law in New York."

"So what do you propose, Fisk?" Carbone inquired.

"Easy, we join each other." Wilson replied. "We stand as a united front against these pathetic 'Defenders', or we all go down. We must work with each other."

"You mean work for you." Sugar spoke up. "I know your game, Fisk. You're just looking for more power. We won't partner with you again, not after starting a war with the Russians a couple years ago." As the other gangs murmured in agreement, Wilson sighed, standing up.

"Very well." Fisk muttered. "After all, there's only room for one Kingpin in this city." Fisk nodded to Bushwacker and Jigsaw, who opened fire with their machine guns, killing all the rivals gangs. Amidst the massacre, Wilson began walking away, speaking with Diamondback.

"Is Bullseye finished?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah, he killed Potter right in front of Daredevil though." Willis reported. "Are you sure you want to do this? Going to war with every gang in New York?"

"I do." Fisk confirmed, as the shooting had stopped. "This turf war will rage through the streets and tear this city apart. When the dust finally settles, we will be the only ones left, and New York will be ours. But first, I have one more loose end for you to tie up..."

 _Ryker's Island_

The squad car finally arrived at Ryker's, waking Andy up as it hit a speedbump.

"C'mon, Barclay." Misty ordered, leading Andy out of the car and into the prison. Once he got in, guards began taking him away. "Don't worry, Luke and everyone will get you out of here." Andy nodded, and was led inside, meeting the guard who began running his name."

"Inmate 91988." the guard listed over, sliding a clear rectangular box his way. "Barclay, Andy. Everything off, and put clothing and items in the bin." Without hesitation, Andy took off his coat, placing it in the bin.

"New ones wear white." the guard told him, handing him a pale prison uniform.

Once Andy finally put the white uniform on, he was led to his cell, with nothing to do but listen to the door locking after him. With his mind numb from the past few hours, Andy stared blankly at the wall, until he heard his cell door open moments later. Confused, Andy turned his head, seeing three prisoners outside the cell, one with glasses. The other two appeared to be brothers of Mexican descent.

"We heard you were causing trouble for the boss on the outside." the man in glasses said. "We just wanted to make it clear Fisk gave us the order to kill you if you try anything."

"Have we met?" Andy asked.

"No, but you've screwed with Fisk." the man said. "Name's Finney, and once the boss man left, he had me step up to take over the big box here."

"If you're here to kill me, then get on with it." Andy goaded. "I'm right here, asshole."

"Not yet." Finney smirked. "Fisk wants you to suffer first." With that, Finney and the other two prisoners left, as the door locked itself again. Andy was about to lie in his bed, when he heard a familiar cackle.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Andy sighed, turning around to find the doll sitting on the bed.

"Not until you confess." the doll challenged.

"How many times do I have to say that I don't know what you're talking about!" Andy nearly yelled, but stopped himself. "Besides, you're still just a figment of my imagination. You're not actually real, not actually here." The doll's eyes burned in irritation, and he withdrew a knife from behind his back, stabbing Andy in the shoulder and forcing him to scream.

"Does that feel real?" the doll asked, grinning maniacally. Andy continued to yell in pain, as the doll tore the blade from his shoulder. "You gotta realize what your secret is, or I won't stop."

"Fuck you!" Andy yelled.

"Wrong answer." the doll said gleefully, and it continued to stab Barclay.

 _Andy's Apartment_

Nica entered the tiny apartment, being followed by agents Dourif and Bowers.

"What exactly are you looking for again, Miss Barclay?" Dourif inquired.

"My niece's doll." Nica lied, pretending to look through the living room. Just as she entered the bedroom, Dourif and Bowers could be heard behind her.

"No, you're not." Bowers said. "You're trying to help your husband escape Ryker's, aren't you?"

"Why would you think that?" Nica asked, finding what she was looking for behind the nightstand, in the form of Andy's twelve gauge shotgun.

"Fisk suspects as much." Nica's blood turned cold, and she whirled around, loading the shotgun in an instant and pulling the trigger, blasting a hole through Bowers' chest.

"Crazy bitch!" Dourif shouted, firing a taser gun right at Nica's hands, painfully electrocuting her. Barclay screamed, dropping the shotgun, and fell to the ground, writhing from the shock.

"Fisk… has… Homeland… on payroll, too?" Nica gasped. Dourif seemingly ignored her, and injected her with what could be presumed to be a knockout drug. "Why not just kill me?"

"Don't worry, that will come later." Dourif promised, beginning to drag Nica out of the apartment, while she began losing consciousness. The last thing she heard her kidnapper say was, "Right now, Mister Fisk and Russo would like a word with you."

Moments later, Nica's eyes closed, and the world turned pitch black.

 _West Harlem_

While Andy was in prison and Nica was kidnapped, Luke Cage and Danny Rand walked down the streets of Harlem, looking for someone in particular.

"Why are we looking for Turk again?" Danny asked.

"It's like you said, he's the biggest rat." Luke reminded his friend. "Besides, witnesses and Misty said they saw Barrett talking with Barclay before that Bushwacker guy showed up."

"So maybe he can shed light on what Fisk is up to." Danny concluded. "And maybe that will help with getting Andy out too."

"Exactly." Luke confirmed, looking ahead in an alley. "Hold up, I see him." Sure enough, Turk Barrett was at the end of an alley, speaking with somebody wearing sunglasses…

"Shades." Luke growled, and stalked towards them. Once he finally got in earshot, Cage yelled, "What the Hell are you doing here? Are you working for Fisk?"

"Hell no." Shades scoffed. "I'm out of this game for snitching on Mariah months ago!"

"Then why are you here?" Danny asked.

"To ask Carl one question: have you lost your goddamn mind?!" Shades shouted. "Why did you step down as the King of Harlem?!"

"I got bored." Luke shrugged. "And I lost my way."

"Well, in your absence, things have already gone to shit." Turk informed. "After your boy Barclay got sent to the pen, Fisk massacred all the rival gang leaders."

"He what?" Luke asked, shocked at what he just heard.

"It's true." Shades confirmed. "Wilson Fisk called a meeting at a neutral warehouse, but quickly killed everyone in there. You have to take over Harlem's Paradise again."

"And if I don't?" Luke challenged.

"Look around!" Shades shouted angrily. "New York will become a warzone! If you want to keep the peace, you have to take control back."

"No, there has to be another way." Luke said adamantly. "Last time, I lost track of what was important. I pushed away my friends, I pushed away Claire, and I became someone I didn't even recognize."

"Or you could take another route." Luke and Danny turned towards the direction of the voice, but it was too late, and a brick flying at a high velocity smashed into Shades' skull, killing him instantly. "You all die."

"Shit, not this again." Turk quipped, and ran off like a coward.

"You must be the one sullying my name." Luke directed his attention back to the man who threw the brick. The man had his face shrouded in a hoodie, but the voice sounded familiar… "Who are you?"

"Come on Carl, you don't recognize me?" the man asked, taking off his hood. Luke's eyes widened, seeing his brother again. "I told you, Carl. I am a snake."

"What you talkin bout, Willis?" Cage joked.

"I shed my skin to become something new… something better." Diamondback grinned. To prove his point, he pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head. After the shot rang off, Stryker tossed the gun away, and Luke and Danny watched as the bullet casing fell to the ground, causing no damage to Willis.

"Sweet Christmas." Luke muttered, and charged his brother, throwing a right hook. Willis, having trained Luke when they were kids, easily dodged the strike, and kicked Luke in the stomach, sending him crashing to the ground. Luke attempted to get up, but Diamondback beat him while he was down, and continued pummelling him.

"I don't need some Hammer tech to whoop your ass this time Carl. And you know what I'm going to do?" Diamondback sneered, wrapping his hands around Cage's neck. "I'm going to choke the life out of you, with my bare hands!" Suddenly, Willis backed up, being startled by someone kicking him in the back. Even though it didn't damage him at all, Stryker withdrew, looking up at his would be attacker.

"You mess with Luke, you mess with me." Danny declared, getting in a fighting stance.

"Really Rand?" Diamondback mocked. "What's a skinny white boy like you gonna do?"

"You'll see." Danny smirked, and began attacking. Willis tried to land a hit on Rand, but was surprised that Danny was too quick, dodging everything Stryker threw at him, while causing him to stagger back through the use of palm strikes at hard to reach pressure points.

"Enough!" Stryker yelled, picking up Danny and dropping him violently on the ground. "I'm going to kill Rand, and force you to watch, Carl."

"He's still got one more ace, Willis." Luke warned. Willis rolled his eyes, disbelieving his brother, but as he was about to pick Rand up, he noticed his right hand beginning to glow yellow.

"What the f-" Willis never finished his sentence, as Danny jumped up, uppercutting Willis with the glowing fist and sending him flying several yards away, temporarily knocking him out in the process.

"You alright?" the Immortal Iron Fist asked, helping Luke up.

"Couldn't have done that sooner?" Cage asked, grinning.

"I thought you wanted me to stay out of it?" Danny reasoned.

"Like with Bushmaster?" Luke pointed out.

"That's not fair." Danny whined, while they went to inspect Shades' corpse, only to find that he was indeed dead. "So what now? If Fisk really did kill all the other gang leaders, it will be all out war in New York."

"Yeah, it'll become a battlefield." Luke commented. "We need to get Barclay out, and quick. Do you have Castle's number?"

"No, but I can call Karen." Danny replied. "She can probably get ahold of him…"

 _Clinton Mission Shelter_

Matt woke up in what was presumed to be a church, and felt himself lying on a bed.

"Thank God! He's alive!" the woman next to him, a nun, rejoiced. "This is the second time you have miraculously survived!" Matt tried to get up, hearing a familiarity in the voice. He remembered her from the aftermath of Midland Circle, but couldn't quite put his finger on. However, once he tried to get up, the nun's hand rested on his shoulder, gently discouraging him from moving.

"No, Matt." the nun smiled. "You're still recovering." She knew his name. She knew his name…

"Mother?" Murdock asked. The nun nodded, and Daredevil heard her heart beat faster, confirming his guess. Matt tried to sit up again, but his mother, whom he had heard the last time as Margaret, gently pushed him back down.

"Matt, don't." Maggie pleaded. "You're too weak. I don't want to lose you all over again."

"If you know who I am, then you know why I have to." Matt told her, somehow looking in the eye, despite his blindness. "There's a man, Wilson Fisk, who threatens to tear this city apart. I can't let that happen. It's like Dad always told me: we're Murdocks. We get back up." Maggie smiled, letting tears flow freely, and she hugged her son.

"Alright, my son." Maggie whispered, and she got up, moving away from the bed and towards a closet. "But before you go, I have something for you." Maggie soon came back, holding some type of suit in her arms. Matt allowed himself to run his fingers over the suit, feeling fabric, some armor over the shoulders, knees, and forearms, as well as eye lenses and horns. Even though he couldn't see it, the color of the entire suit was black, with the slight red accents, especially on the chest area.

"How did you get this?" Matt asked, curious.

"I sewed it from pieces of your original suit." Maggie explained. "And the man who brought you here added the armor." Matt smirked, knowing the man to be Frank Castle. Without hesitation, Matt donned the armored suit, piece by piece, while Maggie watched.

"I feel better already." Matt declared, as Maggie gave him his billy club.

"The suit has been blessed by your friend, Father Lantom." Maggie told him. "Now go, my son. Save our city, and cast out the Devil." Matt smiled, hugging his mother one last time, and left the convent, climbing the roof that overlooked the city. No longer was he letting the Devil out. No longer was Matt Murdock going to pursue vengeance on the Kingpin. He was Daredevil, the man who would bring Wilson Fisk to justice, and as he listened to dozens of voices across the night sky of New York, one thought flashed through his mind. An epiphany, that gave him a new purpose, and rejuvenated him with new strength.

He was born again.


	18. Tortured

While the Devil of Hell's Kitchen might be rising, Andy Barclay felt he was sinking lower. As Andy woke up the next morning, he heard a banging on the bars, but when he looked up, there wasn't a guard by his cell. After remembering what happened last night, Andy checked himself, relieved that the stab wounds weren't real. A moment later, Barclay heard a noise, sounding of someone clicking their tongue, and looking up, he saw his doll hallucination, holding onto what appeared to be Andy's niece.

"Get away from her!" Andy shouted, about to lunge at the doll. Unfortunately, his self proclaimed dark side pulled out a knife, pressing it against Alice's throat.

"Ah ah, Andy!" the doll giggled gleefully. "Here's what's going to happen: either you kill your niece, or I will."

"What is the point of this?!" Andy nearly yelled. "I'm not going to kill her!"

"You seem to be having trouble realizing your secret." the doll cackled. "I had hoped this would remind you."

"I'm sorry, Andy." Alice cried out, tears pouring from her face. "I thought I could kill him myself…"

"Hey, Alice, it's okay." Andy promised. "I'm not going to hurt you, and I won't let you die." Alice tried to smile, but both of them heard the doll click his tongue in annoyance.

"So disappointing." the doll remarked.

"I'm not going to kill her." Andy said defiantly. "Please, just let her go."

"I told you what would happen if you didn't kill her." the doll warned.

"Please, you made your point, alright?" Andy told the apparition, his temper rising.

"Confess your secret." the doll ordered. "And I'll let this end."

"I don't know what you want from me!" Andy finally yelled. In the background, he could hear several other inmates telling him to shut the Hell up, but at this moment, he couldn't care less.

"I want you to tell me what you've been afraid to realize this whole time." the doll said cryptically. "What you've been afraid to tell your wife, your niece, even Frank Castle. Tell me!"

"I don't know. I'm sorry, but I don't…" Andy choked out, his voice cracking. The doll's eye twitched, and his mouth formed a sneer.

"Too bad." the doll muttered, and with a quick swipe, Alice's throat was opened, showering the cell's floor and walls with her blood.

"NO!" Andy screamed, kneeling down and trying to staunch the wound. "You're going to be alright, Alice, I promise."

"Andy… please tell Aunty Nica…" Alice never finished whatever she was going to say, and she died in Andy's arms. As Andy began to weep, his niece's body seemingly evaporated.

"You know, for a guy who said none of this is real, you sure acted like she was." the doll laughed.

"I'm going to kill you." Andy stared at his hallucination, with murderous intent in his eyes. Even though he knew the doll was merely an illusion in his mind, it felt good to say it.

"Finally, we're getting somewhere." the doll goaded, shocking Andy. "Confess."

"I- I don't know-" Andy stammered, his reason catching up with his emotions.

"Don't worry then, Andy." the doll giggled. "You have all the time in the world to think here."

 _Hell's Kitchen_

Frank and Elektra entered the warehouse via the roof, dropping to the floor undetected.

"How did you know Fisk and his men would have a meeting with every criminal gang in here?" Elektra asked.

"I picked up where Barclay left off in persuading maggots like Turk." Frank grunted, pulling out his two pistols, while Elektra took out her twin sai. As the the two vigilantes were about to enter the main room, Frank held up his hand in a fist.

"Wait." Castle whispered, tossing in a flashbang. Two seconds after it went off, Elektra and Frank ran in, fingers twitching on the triggers, only to find no one there. As Frank inspected further, the floor was littered with bodies, most being gang leaders he had heard of. One of the bodies was the man who showed up at Claire's in Luke's place the other day.

"We're too late." Elektra noted.

"Yeah, no shit." Frank muttered. "We gotta- damn!" Frank swore, as he felt someone kick him in the back, sending him to the floor. Right as Castle turned around, he found that his attacker was dressed in what looked like black robes, with a hood covering the entire face except his eyes, making him look like a Japanese ninja. Said ninja pulled out a sword, preparing to stab the Punisher, but Elektra threw one of her sai, impaling the man through the skull, killing him instantly.

"Get up, quickly." Elektra ordered, pulling out her sai and helping Frank to his feet.

"I thought Red and his friends destroyed the Hand" Frank noted.

"True, they might have cut the heads off of the snake, but there are still remnants." Elektra told him. "But what are they doing here…" Their thoughts were interrupted, when more Hand ninjas dropped down into the warehouse, forcing Frank and Elektra to fight their way through. Elektra used her sai and martial arts skills to kill any of the ninjas that got to close, while Frank repeatedly shot them to keep the warriors at bay. At one point, one of the ninjas threw shuriken, ripping the guns away from Castle. Undeterred, however, Frank simply picked up a katana from a fallen ninja and began slicing the Hand to bits, surprising even Elektra with his natural skill. After what seemed like mere moments later, Elektra and Frank looked around, noticing they killed the last of the Hand's soldiers that were sent to attack them.

"You really are full of surprises, Castle." Elektra remarked.

"Sorry, Natchios, I'm spoken for." Frank grunted, walking over and picking up his pistols.

"As am I." Elektra replied. Just as they were about to leave, but one last member of the Hand emerged from the shadows. The man had short dark hair, a bit of a mustache, and was wearing a motorcycle jacket. Upon looking closer, Elektra noticed a long weapon, with a blade on each end, being held in his left hand.

"Scythe." Elektra growled, pointing her sai at the man. "You shouldn't be here."

"Nor should you, Black Sky." Scythe retorted. "Or, former Black Sky now."

"Friend of yours?" Frank murmured.

"He used to work for Madame Gao." Elektra explained.

"You betrayed the Hand, Elektra." Scythe accused. "You murdered Alexandra."

"Because she brainwashed me." Elektra protested. "I had forgotten everyone, including Matthew."

"And now, you will die." Scythe threatened, spinning around and making kicks in the air. Scythe whirled around, spinning his weapon effortlessly, but not going anywhere near Frank or Elektra.

"Oh, Jesus." Frank groaned, and he pulled out his pistol, shooting the Hand member multiple times. "What is this, a dance off?" Elektra looked at Castle funny, before they walked over to Scythe.

"Now, you're going to tell us who you work for." Punisher demanded, sticking his fingers in Scythe's bullet holes, causing him immense agony. "Is it Fisk? Are you working for him?"

"Yes, yes!" Scythe screamed. "That's all I know, I swear!"

"Why were you here?" Elektra asked. When Scythe didn't answer, Punisher dug his fingers into the holes again, causing the member of the Hand to scream again.

"Okay, okay!" Scythe yelled. "He wanted us to dispose of the bodies, so no one would be suspicious!"

"What's the Kingpin planning?" Castle asked, digging his fingers into the flesh again. However, this time, Scythe didn't have an answer. "Tell me!"

"I really don't know!" Scythe pleaded. Sighing in frustration, Castle stood up, and the warrior of the Hand began laughing. "But even if I did, you couldn't stop him. Soon, you and your friends will all be dead or captured, just like Andy Barclay and his wife!"

"You mean Nica?" Frank suddenly asked, jamming his gun into Scythe's shoulder. "What happened to her?" Scythe just smirked, but Castle fired a round into his already open wound, causing him to let loose an ear splitting screech. "Talk, or the next leaves you dickless."

"Alright, alright." Scythe panted. "Fisk sent someone to kidnap her. She was going to her apartment, when one of his men took her. But that's it. That's all I know!"

"Then you're no more use to me." Frank growled, and after shifting his gun, and blew Scythe's skull apart, coating the nearby wall with blood. Just as he stood up, Frank felt his phone vibrating, and frowning for a moment, he pulled it out, answering to hear Karen's voice.

"Hey, Karen." Frank said softly, trying to hide his tiredness.

"Frank, where have you been?" Karen asked. "I've been trying to reach you ever since last night!"

"Yeah, sorry about that." In truth, Frank shut his phone off, to keep him focused. He only recently turned it back on, when the morning sun arrived. "I was out, trying to find Fisk and that meeting he held. Guess I came too late."

"Well, yeah, it was held last night." Karen reminded him . "But listen, Danny called me about the massacre already. If all those rival gangs go to war with each other, or with Fisk, you know what that means, right?"

"Total war in New York." Castle told her. "It'll be even worse than when Black Mariah got sent to prison."

"You have to break Andy Barclay out." Karen said matter-of-factly. "We'll need everyone we can to stop this."

"Yeah, no shit." Frank said gruffly. A normal person might have been insulted by that remark, but not Karen. "It gets even worse. Elektra and I just found out his wife was kidnapped."

"What? Nica's gone?" Frank could hear Dinah Madani asking in the background. "But I sent agents from Homeland with her."

"Homeland has people who are on Fisk's payroll." Frank realized. "Listen, we'll get back to the safehouse as quick as we can. And tell Madani I said high." Without further ado, Frank shut his phone off, and looked back at Elektra.

"Well, what now?" Elektra asked, confused at their next step.

"We're heading back to Homeland." Frank announced. "And we're staging a prison break."

 _Wilson Fisk's Penthouse_

Nica woke up to someone slapping her awake, leaving a burning feeling on her face. With her vision still disoriented, Nica was about to get up, but soon realized that she was tied to a chair, in the middle of a room full of furniture and a white painting. Standing right in front of her were six- no, seven- people. Nica knew some of them, like Wilson Fisk, Russo, Bullseye, and the now named Bushwacker, but she didn't recognize the red haired woman, the black man in the hoodie, or the other man in the corner. As she stared at the Cabal, Nica noticed there was also another woman in the background, someone she hadn't seen or heard of before. Nica began struggling, but soon saw that it was hopeless, she wasn't going anywhere.

"No point in struggling, Pierce." Bushwacker taunted, slapping her a second time. "I made sure the only way you get out of there is if we cut you loose."

"We should kill her." the man in the hoodie suggested. "Better to do it now too, to hurt Barclay when he can't do shit."

"I agree." the man with the shaved head concurred. "Using her as leverage is a cowardly tactic."

"Nah, it's smart." Bullseye argued. "Besides, maybe we could have some fun…" Lester's smirk was wiped off his face, when the shaved man shot him an ice cold glare, while the red head punched him in the jaw.

"Taking a hostage can be useful." the man who was clean shaven spoke up. "It makes your enemy submit quickly."

"If you're going to kill me, just get it over it." Nica muttered. "My name's Barclay, by the way, asshole."

"We're not going to kill you just yet." Wilson Fisk revealed. "With you here, the Devil of Hell's Kitchen and the Punisher will obey our orders."

"Seriously?" Nica broke out in uncontrollable laughter. "You're using me a bargaining chip for Matt and Frank to leave you alone?" Angered, Bushwacker struck Nica again, this time it was so hard her chair fell backwards.

"That's enough." Russo scolded Ellis, pulling her chair back right side up.

"We are." the woman next to Wilson Fisk confirmed. "And there isn't anything your husband can do about."

"Then you have no idea what's coming." Nica warned. "You saw what happened when you kidnapped Frank and my niece."

"Perhaps." Bushwacker thought it over. "But now, I have an upgrade, and I've moved to the next step in human evolution."

"Evolved?" Nica cocked an eyebrow. "You're barely human now."

"If that's what it takes to survive, then so be it." Bushwacker grunted.

"Andy told me about you at Kent." Nica tried to reach out to the man Mark Ellis was. "What turned you into- this?"

"You want to blame someone, Pierce?" Bushwacker snapped. "Blame your husband. It's his fault that doll came to the academy, and killed a bunch of people. It's his fault Shelton's dead."

"So you get revenge by having a prosthetic, right?" Nica asked.

"Like I said, if that's what it takes." Bushwacker told her. "Let's face it: ever since the big guy with the magic hammer fell down from the sky, or fuck, ever since Stark created that iron suit, the world has changed. Aliens raining down fire, green monsters, even a legend from World War Two coming back after decades. The world has evolved past just monsters and boogeymen, it's time we did the same."

"Why are you going after Andy?" Nica asked Russo and Fisk, beginning to get annoyed. "What's your beef with him?"

"Not entirely 'beef' as you call it, Miss Barclay." Fisk told her. "Rather, I feel that I owe an old friend a debt."

"Old friend?" Nica raised one eyebrow. "Who?"

"You know him, Miss Barclay." Fisk leaned in, bending over so that he was at eye level with Nica. "After all, you and your husband worked together to kill him for good." For a few moments, Nica remained confused, but then, her eyes widened in shock and horror.

"Chucky?" Nica asked, horrified. "You worked with him?"

"Indeed." Fisk confirmed. "He was merely a means to an end."

"But how?" Nica asked, and Fisk just rolled his eyes.

"Think, Miss Barclay." Wilson chastised. "How do you think Charles Lee Ray got his hands on John Bishop's book? Or how you, Barclay's mother, and Ray's own son ended up in the exact some mental hospital?"

"You're reach goes farther than New York." Nica realized.

"Of course." Fisk replied. "I have connections all over the country, and around the world. It's how I was able to ensure my dear Vanessa would be protected while I was away."

"When Wilson was apprehended by the Devil, I made the arrangements to have you all in the same asylum." Vanessa added, revealing a sinister grin.

"When did you do this?" Nica asked, still trying to wrap her head around the revelations. "And why would you ally yourself with a madman?"

"That doll… Chucky, wasn't it, was simply a way to further my own goals." Fisk told her, standing up. "And we began our dealings years ago, while I made a stop in Chicago and heard about the doll's whereabouts..."


	19. The Mastermind Behind Everything

_Flashback_

 _2013_

"You shouldn't have fucked around, and just iced the little shit." Tiffany muttered, and getting into her red convertible with Chucky's remains, drove back to Charles Lee Ray's old hideout. The drive wasn't that long, if you looked out the hideout window, you could even see Barclay's apartment. Once Tiffany arrived, she descended into the basement, quickly sewing pieces of other dolls onto Chucky's mangled face, before taking out the Heart of Damballa amulet.

"Ade due Damballa, awake!" a clap of thunder was heard, a flash of lightning, and the killer doll stirred.

"God fucking dammit!" Chucky yelled, pounding his fists on the altar table. "I was so fucking close to killing that little shit!"

"Maybe he's just been expecting you." Tiffany guessed. "We need an edge against him."

"Look no further." Chucky and Tiffany spun around, finding two men in the basement with them. One of them was bald, wearing a complete black suit, and appeared overweight, while the other wore a similar suit, but also wore glasses.

"Who the fuck are you?" Chucky asked, pointing his knife at the intruders. "Ah, what the Hell. I need to get the circulation going." the doll ran straight at the men, jumping up and stabbing the man in the chest. However, Chucky's eyes widened, as the blade broke off to reveal that the man was wearing some type of armor under his suit. Or was the armor woven into it?

"That's no way to treat a guest!" the man chastised, picking up Chucky by the throat and slamming him into a wall. "I am trying to help you, Mister Ray!"

"How do you know my name, fatass?" Chucky asked, his eyes widening even more.

"You don't get to where I am without researching potential business partners." the man replied cryptically, dropping Chucky to the floor. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wilson Fisk. My friend here is Wesley. We're with Union Allied Construction."

"The fuck do I need anything from a construction company for?" Chucky asked angrily.

"Nothing from the company itself. With us, however…" Fisk nodded to Wesley, who produced a small black book, giving it to Tiffany. "I once found this book at an auction. Imagine my luck to find that it is the personal journal of your old mentor, Jonathan Bishop."

"Why are you giving it to us?" Tiffany asked.

"Because now, you owe me a debt, Miss Valentine." Fisk explained. "My people will be in touch."

"Just remember. If you try backing out, we'll make sure you don't come back from death again." Wesley warned, and with that, Fisk and Wesley left the hideout, leaving Chucky and Tiffany shocked and with no choice but to wait until they were called to repay the favor.

Chucky and Tiffany waited for days for Fisk to contact them. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. Months into years, until...

 _2015_

"Ade boku Damballa, give me the power I beg of you!" Chucky chanted. After a clap of thunder was heard, the doll beneath him awoke with a gasp.

"Ah, what a time to be alive!" the second doll cracked its neck, laughing. Tiffany smiled at the sight, before her phone began ringing Rob Zombie's 'Living Dead Girl'.

"Hello?" Tiffany asked sweetly.

"Good afternoon, Miss Valentine." James Wesley's voice could be heard on the other end. "I trust you have not forgotten about Mister Fisk's gift?"

"No, of course not." Tiffany quickly said.

"Good. Because he's coming to collect." Wesley told her. "We need you and Mister Ray to take a flight to Hell's Kitchen- today."

"What do you need?" Chucky asked, taking the phone from Valentine.

"There is a woman who works for us, Karen Page, who is growing suspicious of our activities." Wesley explained. "We need you to take care of her."

"Why not just kill her yourself?" Chucky asked.

"Because my employer would rather not waste his time, when he is busy with other matters." Wesley harshly stated. "And I never mentioned anything about murder." Before Chucky could retort, Wesley hung up with an audible click.

"Well, Chucky, what do we do?" Valentine asked.

"We go repay an old friend." Chucky snickered.

"What about me?" the second doll asked. Chucky thought for a moment, before making a decision.

"Mail yourself to the Middle East." Chucky ordered. "Kandahar, to be exact. I hear Barclay and his ex bitch, De Silva, are there, shooting up some goat fuckers." Both dolls laughed at the joke, before the three went their separate ways, with Tiffany and Chucky sneaking aboard a flight to New York.

Roughly an hour later, Chucky and Tiffany arrived in New York finding Wesley waiting for them outside of the airport, leaning against a sleek black limousine.

"Evening. Welcome to the land that never sleeps." Wesley greeted.

"Yeah, unless you're sleeping with the fishes." Chucky snickered.

"Amusing." Wesley muttered, but there was a icy glare in his eyes. "Get in." Chucky and Tiffany complied, while Wesley entered through the other door. Once the two sat down in the car, they found themselves face to face with Wilson Fisk.

"I'm pleased you agreed to show up." Fisk told them, sounding happy.

"Just tell us what exactly to do." Chucky said quickly. "This is becoming a waste of my fucking time."

"And what have you been doing before my friend called you?" Fisk asked, calling the doll's bluff. "Going after Barclay again?"

"Fuck no. He's on the other side of the world!" Chucky pointed out. "Both him and De Silva are!"

"I trust you used the book to your advantage." Fisk guessed. "Now, down to business. Wesley has discovered that Miss Page is wishing to speak with her boss, Daniel Fisher, over what she believes is money laundering at Union Allied. I need you to silence her."

"Your friend mentioned not to kill her." Tiffany recalled. "Why?"

"Because a murder without any leads is too suspicious." Wesley told them. "We need someone to take the fall."

"Ah, I get what you're saying." Chucky grinned. Suddenly, the limousine stopped at an apartment complex, with a single window being illuminated, with the window slightly opened.

"Miss Page's apartment is there." Wilson told the doll. "Show me why people feared you." Chucky smirked, exiting the limousine and climbing up the apartment building's steps, entering the apartment via the window without being detected. Just his luck that Karen and Fisher were already conversing.

"There was a reason I called you here, Daniel." Karen said, sipping her coffee. Meanwhile, Chucky made his way to the apartment's bathroom, picking up a dinner knife along the way, and located sleeping drugs in the mirror cabinet. "I found some irregularities in the pension plans."

"Are you sure, Karen?" Chucky stealthily made his way back, while Fisher questioned his employee's findings. "Maybe it was a typo-"

"No, I'm pretty sure." While the two kept talking, Chucky popped the small canister, dumping about five of the pills into Karen's cup of coffee. After speaking for a few more minutes, Karen drank her coffee again, and almost instantly fell unconscious, falling into Fisher's lap.

"Karen, what-" Fisher didn't finish his sentence, as he was hit from behind. Daniel groaned, looking up, and his eyes widened in horror, seeing a ginger haired doll with scars looming over him.

"What, had too much to drink?" Chucky sneered. Fisher opened his mouth to scream, but Chucky clamped his hand over the man's mouth, and stabbed him repeatedly with the knife, cackling while he did it. After six stab wounds, Fisher's eyes closed, and his struggling stopped.

"Just like the good old days." Chucky smirked, before laying Fisher's body in the middle of the apartment. Next, he dragged Karen's body to be laying next to him, with the face down, and placed the knife in her right hand. With his work done, Chucky quietly exited the apartment, making his way back to Fisk's limousine.

"It's done." Chucky declared. "Whoever that fucker was, he's dead, and that bitch will take the fall."

"Excellent." Wesley smiled smugly. "I'll make an anonymous call the the NYPD in a few hours." Chucky and Tiffany looked at each other, then began laughing evilly, much to Wesley and Fisk's discomfort, as the limo drove away.

After repaying Fisk's debt, Chucky and Tiffany stayed in New York for a while, in case they were called to do his dirty work again. About a month later, Chucky secretly accompanied Wesley to a warehouse, watching as Page emptied a loaded pistol into him. Despite being too busy dealing with his other associates, Fisk was informed of his best friend's death, and he swore to eventually kill the journalist. However, once the Devil of Hell's Kitchen defeated their contractor, Chucky saw no need to stay, and the two left to go back to Chicago. Once back, Chucky and his bride continued tying up loose ends, until months later, they were called once more to New York.

 _November_

"I don't see why you're asking us to do this for you." Tiffany muttered, speaking through the phone. Just hours ago, she and Chucky were called by Benjamin Donovan, Fisk's lawyer, who was begging them to return to New York. Once they returned, Donovan took Tiffany to Ryker's Island, leaving the doll in the car, while she negotiated with Fisk.

"I had recently enlisted the vigilante known as the Punisher to take care of the rival gangs in Hell's Kitchen." Fisk explained. "Unfortunately, he does not seem interested in the offer I gave him, so I have no choice but to turn to you and your… husband, again."

"What, you want us to start a war?" Tiffany asked, surprised.

"I'm only asking you destroy the Russian Mob." Fisk requested. "Listen, I know how much your son is hated by you and your lover, so I pulled several strings to have him moved to a certain mental facility in Chicago. Consider that an up front favor, and I will 'pay' the rest in full once you're done with the mob."

"I don't know where to start." Tiffany feigned ignorance.

"Mister Donovan has made a list containing every last member." Without anything else to offer, Fisk hung up the phone, shouting 'Get it done!' through the glass, loud enough for Valentine to hear.

"Mister Fisk instructed me to give you this." Donovan gave her a notepad with dozens of names scribbled onto it. "Good luck." Valentine smirked, and exited the prison, getting in the car with Chucky.

"Well?" the killer doll asked.

"Fisk wants us to kill everyone in the Russian Mob." Tiffany informed, handing her lover a list.

"Eh, no big deal. I need a nice stretch anyway." Chucky giggled, pulling out a knife. "Let's go hunting."

Over the course of a month, Chucky and Tiffany raided Russian compounds, killing any and all Russian gangsters. Along the way, Tiffany used the new spell they learned to transfer part of her soul into her original doll body, and their daughter Glenda somehow found them, and together, the four slaughtered the rest of the mob.

"It's done." Tiffany told Fisk, as they sat on opposite sides of the visiting room, separated by glass. "The mob is gone. You have no competition in Hell's Kitchen."

"Well done." Fisk complimented. "I'll be in touch."

"Wait! What about our deal?" Tiffany asked angrily.

"Don't worry, I keep my promises." Fisk told her, before hanging up the phone.

"Miss Valentine, I believe your time is up." Donovan warned. Not wanting to cause a scene, Tiffany smiled and left, joining an already impatient Chucky and Glenda in their car. That ended up being the last time any of them visited New York, and in that time, Chucky was still going after previous survivors, having made short work of Jess and Jade Miller the following year.

 _2017_

Chucky and Tiffany were waiting in their hideout, patiently waiting their next move, when Tiffany's phone began ringing.

"Who the fuck is this?" Valentine asked, annoyed.

"Is that a way to speak to an old friend?" Tiffany nearly dropped the phone. It had been almost a year since she heard that deep voice.

"Mister Fisk." Tiffany greeted, causing Chucky to raise his eyebrow. "What are you calling for?"

"To tell you that I have repaid you and your lover in full." Fisk told her. "I had to pull and yank some strings, but I was able to have your most recent nuisance, Nica Pierce, transported to Harrogate Institute."

"And why is that location significant?" Tiffany asked, even though she had a feeling she knew.

"Because it is the same asylum that your son and Mister Barclay's mother reside in." Fisk explained. "Think of of it as an extended thank you for taking care of the Russians." Without warning, Fisk hung up, just as Glenda entered the hideout.

"What'd I miss?" the daughter of Chucky asked.

"The opportunity we've been waiting for." Chucky answered. "All of our past victims are holed up in the same loony bin, making my plan for revenge so much easier."

"Except for Andy." Glenda reminded her father. "I decided to not meet him at that restaurant by the way."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he takes the bait." Chucky promised. "After I kill his filthy slut of a mother, he'll fall for it, hook, line, and sinker!" With that, Chucky threw back his head and cackled, eventually being joined by his bride and his daughter.

 _Now_

"So you see, Miss Barclay, I am merely finishing what an old friend started." Fisk explained, while Jigsaw and Bushwacker snickered. "Charles Lee Ray could not finish you and your family off, so I will, considering that you all have been trouble for my allies."

"Kristen De Silva…" Nica began to groan. "Did you set up to have her killed?"

"Of course I did." Fisk replied. "Ray and William were old clients. It wasn't that hard to falsify intel so Mister Ray could take her out."

"It was pretty easy, considering that it's lot more common than you'd think." Billy Russo noted, leaning in to look Nica in the eye. "I was kinda hoping that Chucky would take care of you and Barclay at Harrogate like we originally planned. But, doesn't matter. Kristen's dead, as are most of that doll's victims. Pretty soon, you'll be just another body on the pile of corpses." Nica's eyes flashed with anger, and she attacked Russo with a vicious headbutt, spraying his blood across his face.

"You bitch!" Russo yelled, pulling out a knife and getting ready to attack, but was held back by the man in the hoodie.

"Enough, Mister Russo." Kingpin ordered. "We need her alive, remember?"

"Yeah." Billy grumbled, but the murderous intent was still in his eyes.

"Good." Wilson smiled. "Let him go, Stryker." Reluctantly, Diamondback let go of Russo, who refrained from attacking. "Now where were we?"

"Right here." Vanessa told her fiance, handing him a detonator.

"Thank you." Wilson said softly, kissing Marianna on the cheek, before showing the detonator to Nica. "I've had my men place bombs around various locations of the city while my new associates kept the vigilantes busy. Nelson and Murdock, Alias Investigations, Harlem's Paradise, Rand Enterprises, I believe you grasp the idea."

"You're going to destroy their homes." Nica realized.

"Precisely." Fisk confirmed. "You see, I have thought of something better than just kidnapping you, Miss Barclay."

"My husband and his friends will come for you." Nica warned, as a dangerous fire shone in her eyes.

"Oh, I hope so." Fisk grinned, and the Cabal left to iron out their plans. "By this time tomorrow, I will have the entire city of New York in the palm of my hand." All Nica could do was stare out the window overlooking the city, and pray that Andy would find a way to get out of Ryker's.


	20. The Confession

Andy stood in the cafeteria, patiently waiting in line for his lunch. Unfortunately, soup of the day, or whatever the 'chefs' made, was his only option of food. That, or he'd have to risk going through the day hungry.

Just as Andy was about to receive a discolored slop in his tray, he felt something was off, and he turned around to find the man next to him pulling out a shank. Thinking quickly, Andy used his tray as a shield, blocking the makeshift knife before hitting the man in the head. The man backed up, and Andy kneed him in the face, knocking his attacker out. Andy stood in the middle of the cafeteria, looking around, while Stewart Finney looked back at him, wide eyed.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Finney asked, indicating the Valdez brothers. "Go beat his ass!" the Valdez brothers stood up, one of them drawing a shank, and approached Barclay, as a lion would toward their prey. Andy smirked, knowing they had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

"Let the royal rumble begin!" the doll could be heard in a corner, giggling. "In the orange corner, we have the meathead Valdez brothers, and in the white corner we have my old homeboy, Andy Barclay!" Andy turned his head, distracted, but it was enough for Miguel to clock him. Miguel and Teardrop began to pummel Barclay, while the doll cackled at the sight.

"Come on, Andy, get up!" the doll taunted. "You've killed Chucky before, this should be a walk in the park!" Andy became enraged, throwing both Valdez brothers off him with strength from pure adrenaline, and grabbed his tray. As Miguel got up, Andy tossed the metal sheet like a frisbee, striking Valdez in the face and shattering his nose. Before Teardrop could react, Andy kicked him in the chest, and repeatedly kicked his ribs while he was down.

"Something you assholes don't understand." Andy sneered, while Miguel and Teardrop lay on the floor. "I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me!"

"That's it, break it up, ladies!" Andy looked up, just in time to get slammed in the face with a riot shield, held by one of the guards. The guard then picked Andy up by the shoulders, punching him in the stomach. "You just bought yourself a ticket to solitary, Barclay."

"Fuck you." Andy wheezed, as the guard dragged him out of the cafeteria. Andy was dragged through one of the prison wings, before he was thrown into solitary confinement, with the guard cuffing him and chaining his legs to the floor.

"Make yourself comfortable." the guard sneered, slamming the door and closing the one window. "You'll be in here for a long time." The guard then walked off, leaving Andy alone with his thoughts. Speaking of his thoughts, the doll suddenly appeared, grinning.

"Guess that's what I get for betting on black." the doll complained.

"Jesus, why can't you just leave me alone?" Andy asked, clearly annoyed.

"Because you still need to confess your secret, Andy." the doll reminded him, and he leaned in far enough that Andy couldn't look away. "And now, we're all alone. We have all the time in the world."

 _Fogwell's Gym_

Matt entered the old gym, not surprised that no one was there. Matt approached a punching bag left out, and began taking off his new suit, one piece at a time. After he finally removed the helmet, he took some gauze and wrapped it around his hands, to make sure they wouldn't get cut from punching. Once he was done preparing, Murdock got into a fighting stance, and began punching the bag, hearing his father's voice while he attacked the leather tube.

 _Anybody who's got the guts to step into the ring deserves respect._ Battlin' Jack reminded Matt, who gave a left hook towards the bag.

 _Sometimes, even if you get knocked down, you can still win._ Matt continued to pound the bag, beginning to hear a roaring noise in his ears, and threw a couple jabs.

 _It ain't how you hit the mat, it's how you get back up._ Jack's voice could be heard encouraging Murdock, while he pummelled the leather bag. A few more punches later, he could hear the sound of a tiny hole being torn, and sand began spilling out.

 _We're Murdocks, Matty. We might get hit a lot, but we get back up. We always get back up._ With one windup, giving all his strength, Matt punched the bag dead center with enough force to make it snap off its chain and fly across the gym, spattering the floor with leather and sand. Breathing heavily, Matt gathered up his bag and left Fogwell's.

He was ready to bring the Kingpin to justice, once and for all.

 _Safe House_

Frank and Elektra arrived at Homeland Security's safe house, surprised to find everyone looking at them.

"Took you long enough." Karen broke the silence. "We were going to do this without you."

"Cute." Frank snorted. "How'd you do that, just guns blazing?"

"Isn't that what you'd do?" Luke Cage asked. "Isn't that your thing?"

"Bad idea." David Lieberman spoke up. "Frank's actually a lot smarter than he seems."

"And here I just thought he was a meathead." Jessica scoffed, drinking from her bottle.

"Do we have any idea how we're going to break Andy out?" Danny asked, changing the subject.

"Of course." Dinah Madani replied, setting down blueprints of the prison on the table.

"Where'd you get these?" Foggy asked.

"I'm from Homeland." Madani stated the obvious. "We have blueprints of everything."

"And you won't get fired for aiding a breakout?" Frank asked.

"Consider it 'off the books', Castle." Dinah mumbled. "And I won't be with you on this one."

"In that case, leave the briefs to me, Madani." Frank told her, before addressing everyone in the safe house. "Okay, listen up. Barclay is going to be in cell block A, wearing a white prisoner uniform. At around the time we get there, he'll be locked in his cell."

"How do you know this?" Colleen asked.

"Because I spent a day or two in there." Frank replied.

"Yeah, well, Andy's not in cell block A right now." David announced. "He's in solitary confinement."

"How does he know that shit?" Misty asked.

"Because my dad hacked into the security cameras." Leo told her, grinning at her father.

"Right, so how do we get in?" Trish asked.

"The easiest way is through the backlot." Frank mused, pointing to one of the prison's exits. "It's how Fisk engineered my escape last time."

"Thanks for confirming he let you out." Frank turned around, seeing Matt return, now in a new black suit.

"New suit." Elektra remarked. Daredevil simply smirked in her direction, before turning his attention back to Frank.

"How much of the prison did he have under his control?" Murdock asked.

"After I killed Dutton, he was the Kingpin of the entire island." Castle informed. "Which means if he still has that control, it won't be easy to rescue Barclay."

"I'm up for it." Alice offered. "The sooner I get my uncle and aunt back, the better."

"Alice, I know you want to help, but please, sit this one out." Frank almost begged the girl. "Barclay would kill me if I let you come with."

"Oh come on." Alice complained. "I've fought a killer doll. How much trouble could this be?"

"This isn't Harrogate." Frank pointed out. "These aren't some crazies guarded by minimal security. The prison's full of murderers, drug dealers, and rapists. And the guards are corrupt assholes. If you get killed following us, that will be on me." Alice looked at Frank, culminating in a staring contest, before she finally gave up.

"Fine. I won't be right next to you." Pierce decided. "But can I at least help in some way?"

"If you really wanna help, stay stationed outside, and take care of anyone who might sound an alarm." Frank ordered. "But someone will have to be with you."

"I'll go." Karen volunteered. "I'll make sure she doesn't get hurt."

"Thanks, Karen." Castle smiled. Not forced, but genuinely smiled. "And I'd like someone to watch my six."

"I'm going." Daredevil spoke up. "Besides, you could use someone who can tell if anyone's around a corner." Frank nodded, before getting back to the plan.

"Right, so here's how this'll go down." Castle declared. "Red, Karen, Alice, and I will go to the prison. David, I want you and Madani to watch the cameras. Karen, Alice, pick a vantage point, and take out anyone on the outside. Red and I will sneak in with riot suits, locate Andy, and get him out. Any questions?" Frank looked around, but no one made a single sound.

"Alright, let's go."

Frank, Karen, Alice, and Daredevil made their preparations, suiting up and taking weapons that they needed, before leaving the safe house. The moment they got outside, Frank located his personal vehicle, which David had nicknamed the 'Battle Van', and after ushering the other three in, they all made their way towards Ryker's. Once Andy was freed, Frank thought, they'd finally be able to take the fight to Wilson Fisk and his allies. And he and Fisk were long overdue for a rematch.

 _Ryker's Island_

"Confess."

Andy felt a plastic hand strike his cheek, somehow possessing enough force to knock blood out of his mouth. Andy stared up at the ceiling, having laid on the stone bench in the solitary cell, while the doll that spoke in his voice continued to torture him.

"Fuck you." Andy gasped out, beginning to get the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

"Fine." the doll raised his hands, in a form of good faith. "Let's try something new." the doll hopped off of the bench, and pulled at least a dozen pictures from his overall pocket.

"Do you recognize these?" Andy squinted, taking a look at some of the photos. Sure, one or two of them he recognized, like Chucky himself, or Miss Kettlewell, or Phil Simpson, but the rest seemed unfamiliar. "Do you even remember their faces?"

"A few." Andy admitted. "What the Hell is this?"

"These are your victims." the doll revealed, throwing the rest of the photos on the floor. With a shudder, Andy flashed back to when he murdered Phil and Miss Kettlewell in cold blood. Sure, at the time his soul was in the body of a Good Guy doll, but that wasn't an excuse for the terrible deeds. He could still hear Joanne crying after finding Phil's neck broken.

"I'm not proud of some of the people I've killed, but most of them had done terrible things." Andy protested, getting a good look at the rest of the pictures. "Some were terrorists, rapists, or even murderers. They had victims of their own."

"They also had husbands, wives, children, parents." the doll pointed out. "Confess your secret, Andy, and all of this ends."

"You are sick." Andy spat. "And if you think that helping me find my 'secret' is doing whatever the fuck this is, you'll have to think of something better."

"I did." the doll smirked, before picking up a photo and shoving it in his face. "Remember this guy? Real scumbag named Victor."

"He assaulted my friends and I at the bar." Andy reasoned.

"He also tried to hit on your wife, Nica." the doll added, pulling out a pencil from his overalls. "You ended up stabbing him in the elbow and neck, before burying the pencil in his head. Confess your secret, or you'll get stabbed in the same areas."

"Go fuck yourself." Andy said calmly, sending the doll a death glare. The doll simply smiled, and brandished the pencil.

"Wasn't the answer I was hoping, but it'll do." the doll said gleefully, and began stabbing Barclay in the arm, the neck, and then the head. White hot needles of pain shot through Andy's body, as his head swam, and black dots began dancing in his sight. Finally, once the pain felt too great, Andy blacked out in agony.

After what felt like forever, Andy gasped awake. Looking at himself in a once over, he found that again, the wounds didn't stick. Why would they, the doll wasn't really there to begin with. It was all in his head.

"Just because I'm in your mind doesn't mean I'm not real." Andy turned around, seeing the doll behind him. "Confess. Your. Secret."

"I don't know." Andy stammered. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"Then let's jog your memory." the doll announced. "Chucky was just an excuse.. Saying it was just me, being trapped in the doll for only a couple days, it was all just an excuse. Joining up in the military, working with Frank Castle and Billy Russo, that just fueled it. The idea that all you've done in the past week- Hell, the past year- was to save your friends and family, is just an excuse."

"Excuse for what?" Andy yelled. "Tell me!"

"No, you tell me, Andy!" the doll shot back. "I already know, I'm not going to spoon feed this shit to you! You tell me."

"I don't fucking know!" Andy screamed, not caring if the guards heard him. "I have no idea what you're talking about!" Seeing the rage boil up in Andy caused the doll to grin, clearly enjoying the scene.

"I know what you're thinking, Andy." the doll taunted. "I know what's going through your head. After all, I'm in your head. You're thinking you can free yourself of those chains, force me against a wall, and find something sharp to slit my throat. Just like how I did to your dear Alice." At the mention of Alice, Andy stood up, attempting to lash out at the doll, but was held back by the chains.

"Ah, there it is!" Andy's dark side cackled. "There's the beast coming out to play! But it's not just about stopping me, huh? It's not about stopping Russo, Ellis, or even Fisk, is it? No. There's something else in that look. I can feel it, I know it. You just have to realize it too. Confess."

"Confess what?" Andy yelled, staring at his counterpart with murderous intent.

"What you've been keeping from everyone, including yourself." the doll said. "You've told yourself you kill because you're saving someone you love, or it's in self defense. But come on, we both know you don't kill because someone is forcing your hand, so why? Why do you feel you need to kill?"

"Because I want to." Andy finally said.

"Could you say that a little louder?" the doll goaded, putting a hand to his ear. "I didn't quite catch that."

"Because I want to." Andy repeated, before screaming. "I KILL BECAUSE I WANT TO! AND I LIKE IT!" The doll grinned at Andy, making him to involuntarily shiver, as he began to clap slowly.

"Oh, how the truth comes out." the Andy doll mocked. "It really does set you free, doesn't it?" Overwhelmed, Andy sat down on the bench, shaking, while the doll sat down in front of him, legs crossed.

"So, how does it feel, now that the truth is out?" the doll asked, smiling. "Feels like a weight is lifted off your shoulders, right? You know, I knew you'd break, because in the end, I know you better than you know yourself. It's because of that that I know, you infect and destroy every life you touch. And now you know why, because what you always thought were acts of nobility were all built upon a lie. You took the infamous killer doll, Chucky, and used him to justify killing, in the name of saving the ones you loved. When you finally killed Charles Lee Ray, you moved on to the thought of saving your loved ones as justification. We both know there's a price to be paid for it. Your mother paid for it. De Silva paid it, so did Tyler. Even Kyle and Chucky's own son, Glen, paid for it. Do you really think Nica and Alice's lives won't be tainted by you?"

"You said this would end." Andy moaned, laying back down on the stone bench. "You promised."

"Well, I just meant the torture." the doll told him. "I'm a man, or in this case doll, of my word. But don't worry, I'll be back."

"Please, just leave me alone." Andy wept. A moment later, a siren could be heard, meaning only one thing: someone had broken out, or broken in.

"Sounds like someone's coming to get you." the doll giggled. "I'll see you real soon, Andy." With that, the doll vanished in thin air, just as the door to solitary confinement opened. Andy strained his eyes, trying to see what was in the doorway, but all he could make out were two silhouettes against the bright white light.

"Andy!"


	21. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

_Ten Minutes Ago_

Frank, Matt, Karen, and Alice arrived at the back of the prison, parking the Battle Van near armored transport trucks.

"Anyone need a refresher?" Frank asked, looking at his friends while he put in an earpiece. When no one gave an answer, he took that everything being crystal clear. "Right, let's move out." Alice and Karen nodded, and everyone exited the vehicle, taking their assumed positions.

Frank and Matt began walking towards the entrance, seeing only two guards in there way. One of the officers, Frank noted, was Roy Olsky, a man who worked for Fisk, and the one to bring him to Ryker's when he was arrested.

"Visiting hours are over." Roy told the two men, but then squinted, seeing one of the men was dressed as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, while the other was the Punisher himself. "Holy shit. Castle?" Frank didn't respond, and instead, he blew the man's head apart with his shotgun, painting the door crimson with his blood.

"Shit!" the other guard yelled. Before he could alert the rest of the prison via the walkie talkie, a shot echoed through the night, and the other cop fell to the ground with a bullet hole in his head. Frank looked back, seeing that Karen and Alice had climbed one of the guard towers, and Page used a sniper rifle to take out the other man. Frank nodded once, before he began searching the dead men.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked.

"Looking for their keys, dumbass." Frank muttered, eventually finding a keyring. "Got it, let's go." Frank and Matt entered the prison, careful not to set off the alarm, and made their way down the halls and corridors, ignoring the jeers and insults flung at them by the inmates.

"Oh shit, the Punisher's back!"

"Hey Devil! Fisk is gonna hurt you bad!"

"Yo, Castle! You're gonna die tonight!"

"Hey guys, you got two guards turning the corner." David Lieberman's voice could be heard, cutting through Frank's thoughts.

"I hear them, and they're coming fast." Matt agreed. Moments later, the guards could be seen right down the hall, and Frank quickly kneed one guard in the face, then immobilized him by snapping his left arm and slamming his head into a cell's bars. Meanwhile, Daredevil somersaulted towards the other officer, performing his signature flip kick and knocking the man out instantly.

"I still don't get why you won't just let me put these assholes in the ground." Frank grumbled.

"Because if we kill a guard, the entire prison will be on high alert." Daredevil reminded him. As soon as he said that, a noise that sounded similar to a siren went off in the entire cell block.

"That's some shitty luck." Frank muttered. "But what can I expect, having the devil on my shoulder…" Matt frowned, but didn't say a word, and they quickly ran down the halls, eventually finding solitary confinement due to Frank knowing the place from memory.

"Guys, the alarms are going off-" Karen was about to say, but was cut off.

"We know." Frank snapped. "What the Hell happened?"

"They must have seen the guards you killed before going in." Alice guessed. "We'll try to cover you, but hurry!"

"You don't have to tell us twice." Frank replied, finding the right key to open the steel door. Without hesitation, Castle ripped the door open, finding Andy laying on the stone bench he once sat on, with his eyes snapping in their direction.

"Andy!"

Andy slowly got up, stumbling while he did it, as his vision became clearer. Standing before him were Frank and Matt, apparently there to rescue him. Even though he didn't acknowledge it, Andy clearly saw that Murdock had a new black suit.

"Get up, Barclay." Frank ordered, striding over and freeing Andy of the chains and handcuffs. "We gotta get out of here."

"Leave me." Andy whimpered. "It's over."

"What do you mean?" Frank asked. "It's not over yet, Barclay. Fisk has-"

"No, I mean, it's over for me." Andy repeated. "I don't- I don't want to do this anymore."

"We don't have time for this." Daredevil stated the obvious. "I can hear a lot more guards coming our way. If we stay here, we'll be outnumbered."

"Let's go, Andy, come on." Punisher decided, putting his friend's arm over his shoulder. "I'll drag you out if I have to." Frank and Andy began walking out of the cell, where Matt joined in, taking Barclay's other arm.

"His heartbeat and pulse sound normal." Daredevil informed, as they were leaving.

"Leave me." Andy pleaded. "I'll just slow you down."

"Andy, you have to leave." Matt insisted. "Fisk kidnapped Nica while you were in here."

"I can't." Andy repeated. "I'm not the man she, or any of you thought I was. She'd be horrified if she realized who I really am."

"You're coming with us, or we all die." Frank finalized. "Besides, Alice is waiting for us."

"What? She's here?" Andy groaned.

"Yeah, she insisted." Frank mumbled, before speaking into his earpiece. "Karen, Alice, get ready to head out. We got Andy, and we're leaving soon!"

"Roger, Frank." Alice said jokingly. "How is Andy? Is he alright?"

"He looks fine." Frank told her. "Get ready to leave in five." Andy, Frank, and Matt continued to walk through the corridors, having to shoot or immobilize officers along the way, before they finally found themselves outside of Ryker's, where Alice and Karen were waiting for them next to the Battle Van.

"Come on, let's go!" Alice shouted, shooting at officers who were catching up to the trio.

"Dammit, Barclay, pick up the pace." Frank growled, nearly having to throw Andy in the back of the van.

"Are you sure he's alright?" Alice asked, as the rest of the group got into the van.

"Physically, he's fine." Matt replied. "I don't know about mentally though…" as the van's engine roared to life, Frank drove away from the prison, while Alice looked helplessly at her uncle, wondering what he just went through.

 _Safe House_

Twenty minutes later, the Andy Barclay rescue team arrived at Homeland's safe house, where everyone was expecting them. Instead of staying in the main room, however, the group ventured into one of the private bedrooms, with Jessica, Luke, and Danny following them, before the door was slammed shut.

"Jesus, what happened?" Jessica asked, putting down the bottle.

"The plan went sideways." Frank grunted, setting Andy down on the bed. "Whatever the Hell is going on in his head, it's gotten worse."

"Uncle Andy, please." Alice whispered, kneeling down and looking Andy in the eyes. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing happened." Andy quickly defended, then attempted to change the subject. "Why were you at Ryker's? You could've been hurt."

"Oh no, don't you dare turn this on me." Alice snapped, pointing her finger in Andy's face. "And I was with you when we stopped Chucky, remember?"

"Harrogate wasn't filled with serial murderers and rapists." Andy pointed out. "If you died, Nica and I would be devastated. Besides, I don't want you to become like me."

"You said you didn't want to do this anymore." Frank brought the conversation back to what Barclay told him in the prison. "What did you mean by that?"

"I meant that I'm done." Andy mumbled. "I'm done pretending to be a hero. Everyone around me, fuck, it might as well be everyone in this room, suffers or dies, because they've been into contact with me."

"I refuse to believe that." Danny told him. "You still have friends and family."

"And that happens to us all the time, man." Luke added. "You don't get a pity party for this. We lose friends on a daily basis because of what we do."

"It goes deeper than that." Andy continued. "It's far worse, because I've murdered dozens of others in the name of saving the ones I love."

"Good God." Jessica snorted. "What was put in your head that you're a murderer? I've killed three people by now, I doubt that makes me a serial killer!"

"Andy, whatever is going on with you, that convinced you that everything bad that happens to people is your fault, it's bullshit!" Alice shouted.

"Well, tell that to my mother." Andy replied calmly. "Tell it to Aunt Maggie, or Kyle, Tyler, or De Silva. Do I need to go on?"

"I've seen cases of PTSD, but never like this…" Matt murmured.

"This isn't Post Traumatic Stress." Andy assured Daredevil. "This is a truth that I had kept from myself for twenty seven years."

"Twenty seven years…" Alice thought, mentally remembering what year that would have been. 1990. "You mean the 90s? The time you told me you were stuck in a doll? Andy, what the Hell did Chucky do to you then, because it's clearly fucked your head in a way I didn't think was possible!"

"It wasn't Chucky." Andy reminded his niece. "It was that thing that spoke in my voice. It showed me my true self."

"I don't believe that for a second." Frank said bluntly. "Not that you're a serial killer, or bat shit insane, or whatever crap has been shoved into your head, because I know the kind of man you are, Barclay. You showed me back in Kandahar the man you were, and you became even better over time."

"What do you guys want me to do?" Andy asked. "Even if you don't believe it, I still do. And there's nothing you can say that could make me think different."

"What about Frank?" Karen asked. "He kills criminals on a daily basis. He doesn't see himself as crazy, or a serial killer."

"That's because I regret nothing." Punisher responded. "Every criminal, every piece of shit that I've put in the ground, they deserved to die."

"You don't get to walk away from this, Andy." Alice told her uncle. Everyone else in the room stayed silent, hoping the girl could get through to him. "Especially since Aunty Nica was kidnapped."

"I can't do this, Alice." Andy begged. "I can't let her see the monster I really am. That's why I don't want you to become me."

"What're you talking about?" Alice asked. "That you don't trust me? That I'm just a kid? Newsflash, I had my soul in a doll too."

"That just goes back to not wanting you to be like me." Andy protested. "And it goes much further than that: I'm sorry, but I'm not the man you think I am. The truth is, I'm no hero. My entire mission, my 'crusade', to destroy Chucky once and for all, it was all based on a lie."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alice asked, on the brink of tears.

"When I was locked up, I realized my true self." Andy continued. "I don't kill assholes to save you or Nica, or to help my friends. I did it because a part of me- a bigger part than I realized- secretly enjoyed it. I killed because I liked it. I'm not angry at you for helping in breaking me out. I'm proud of you. But I don't trust myself into not becoming a monster."

"Andy, you're not a monster." Alice insisted, beginning to cry. "If you were, Aunty Nica would've never fallen in love with you. Hell, you proved that you're not a monster when Chucky gave you a fresh start as a doll, but you refused it."

"Charles Lee Ray didn't make me a killer." Andy pointed out.

"No, spending ten years fighting off a living nightmare did that." Alice retorted. "Spending the next twenty living in fear and loneliness cemented it. You spent thirty years of your life dealing with horrors that most people can't even dream of, let alone realize they exist. The fact that never turned you into a monster proves exactly the kind of man Aunty Nica married. Look, Andy, I can't pretend to know what you've been through, but I think it's more than fair to say that after Aunty Nica was sent to Harrogate, I got a taste of it. Even if it was the tiniest, it was still a taste. But at this point, it doesn't matter. The people that you- that we- care about, they're not suffering. Nica's life, and my life, are better because of you. Because you decided to end a monster." Andy looked sadly towards his niece, as a single tear rolled down his face.

"Deep down, I know you're right." Andy sighed. "You're smarter than I ever would have believed a kid your age would be. But every time I take a step forward, it feels like the past forces me to take three more back."

"Have you ever thought it's because you're allowing it?" Alice asked rhetorically. "You've been hung up on Chucky for months. He's dead, and he's not coming back. It's time to bury the past. And I get it, if you still want to be done with all these heroics, to just walk away from it, you can, but please. Do this one last time, for me. To save Aunty Nica." Andy smiled, getting up and hugging his niece, before turning to the rest of the group.

"So you done feeling sorry for yourself?" Luke asked.

"For now." Andy nodded. "I'm ready for one last time." Frank grinned, as he, Andy, and the rest of the Defenders suited up. Moments later, the eight of them stepped out of the bedroom, and began to address everyone else.

"Karen, stay with Alice." Frank requested, surprised that she didn't try to go along. "Natchios, with us."

"Gladly." Elektra smirked. "I'd love to kill the man who hurt Matthew."

"The van's all ready, Frank." David announced.

"And Wilson Fisk has Nica at his penthouse." Madani added. "Expect him and his 'Cabal' to be there with him."

"Thanks, Lieberman. Madani." Frank grinned, and everyone began to leave. Right before Andy walked out the door, he turned around, going on one knee and hugging Alice.

"I'll be back." Andy whispered. "I promise."

"Bring Nica home." Alice whispered back. Barclay soon broke the hug off, and joined Frank in the van, sitting with Elektra, Cage, Jessica, and Danny in the back. Frank started the engine, and the vehicle roared to life, tearing through the streets of New York to make it back to Hell's Kitchen.

 _Wilson Fisk's Penthouse_

Nica sat patiently in her chair, hoping for an opportune moment to break free. Unfortunately, the traitorous Agent Dourif stood behind her, watching her like a hawk.

"Okay. Thank you. Excellent work, Mister Finney." Fisk complimented, before shutting off his phone and turning to the rest of the Cabal.

"Who was that?" Bushwacker asked.

"My contact at Ryker's Island." Kingpin explained. "He just let me know that Andy Barclay has escaped, and the ones who broke him out were the Punisher and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen." At the mention of Andy, Nica began chuckling to herself.

"Something funny, bitch?" Bushwacker asked, smacking her in the face with his gun arm.

"Yeah." Nica smirked. "My husband escaped prison. Now there's nothing stopping him from coming after you."

"That was always the plan." Fisk smiled sinisterly, giving Nica shivers. "I knew that he would eventually break out. He would most likely regroup in the safe house provided by Homeland Security, in which I can just set off the bomb I had planted under the kitchen sink. Or, your husband will go looking for me, until I decide to kill him with my own bare hands. Either way, I've won."

"Not yet." Jigsaw warned, entering the room with a tiny black object. "I just found this under your blank white painting. What was it called again?"

" _Rabbit in a Snowstorm_." Vanessa answered, staring at the tiny circle with wires. "Is that what I think it is?"

"We've been bugged!" Fisk realized. "Give me the detonator, now!" Hastily, Vanessa gave him what he asked for.

"Not that one, the other one!" Wilson yelled, his face beginning to turn purple in rage. Quickly, Billy tossed him the detonator for the single bomb at Homeland, and without hesitation, Fisk pounded the button. All anyone heard was a faint click, and looking outside the window, no explosion rang off.

"I don't understand." Davos spoke up. "What happened?"

 _Safe House_

"Good idea in having your inside man bug the place." David commented, wiping his hands of the grime from the kitchen sink, and pulling the now defused bomb out for Madani to see. "You know, this is actually the second time I've gotten my hands dirty."

 _Wilson Fisk's Penthouse_

"Dammit!" Fisk yelled, throwing the detonator and causing it to shatter.

"How could they have known?" Diamondback asked.

"Maybe they had an inside man." Walker suggested. "It's a tactic the cops use all the time."

"But who would have the balls to betray-" Russo turned his head in Agent Dourif's direction. "You."

"Me?" Dourif squeaked, terrified at the Cabal turning on him.

"What are you, a triple agent?" Russo asked. "You're the only one who's been to both here and the safe house. Well, aside from our guest."

"No, never. You have to believe me." Dourif tried to explain, backing up in horror.

"Bullseye." Fisk simply ordered, and Lester grinned.

"Anything that gets me paid." Bullseye chuckled, and he threw a straightened paper clip at Dourif, hitting him between the eyes and embedding itself in his skull.

"So what now?" Nica taunted, causing everyone to stare at her. "We can all assume they're on their way now. How much more time do you think you have?"

"Long enough." Fisk replied. "We still have you, Miss Barclay. And it's time the Devil pays for everything he took from me."


	22. The Second War for New York

"You're fine, right, Barclay?" Andy looked up, seeing that Jessica was staring at him with a gaze that could cut steel beams.

"Yeah." Andy lied. "I'll be fine." Jessica nodded, and took one last swig of whiskey, before setting the bottle down. Suddenly, without warning, the truck became overturned, violently crashing in the middle of a street. Whether it was a pothole or someone tried shooting the truck wasn't known. Once Andy came to, he looked around, finding he was the only one still in the truck.

"Castle? Matt!" Andy yelled, pushing the door open. "Jessica! Where the fuck are you guys?" Andy began walking down the streets, seeing a building that looked awfully like his old apartment building from 1988. With a chill, he realized he was back in Chicago. How did he get there?

Andy's thoughts were broken, as a scream was heard, and a woman flew out an apartment window. Andy quickly rushed over to the apartment, having a dreading feeling on who it was. Sadly, Barclay felt as if he was in slow motion, and he watched helplessly, as the woman fell several stories, before landing on the hood of a car.

"Aunt Maggie!"

Andy finally made it over to the apartment building, finding his old babysitter laying on the car, dead from the fall. Andy fell to his knees, devastated that he couldn't save one of his best friends in childhood.

"Aw, poor little Andy never got over this, did he?" Andy turned around, his eyes burning with anger, as the doll approached him, pretending to cry. "You didn't really think I was gone, did you? And now, it's time to play." With that, the doll with Andy's voice punched Barclay, temporarily knocking him to the ground.

Andy quickly got back up, kicking the doll away, but as he watched as a swarm of the same doll began charging towards him from all angles, he realized he was fighting for his life. Andy swiftly kicked the first doll like a soccer ball, sending it careening into a car window, then smashed his elbow down onto another, before picking it up and throwing it across the street.

"Are you losing your mind, Andy?" one doll asked, and Andy punted it into a two story window.

"Isn't fighting for your sanity so… thrilling?" another doll cackled. Andy ignored it, and instead, picked it up and threw it like a bowling ball, causing the doll to collide with several of its clones.

"I can do this all night, Andy." a third doll taunted, while Andy repeatedly punched it in the mouth. "Your mind is weak!"

"I've had to put up with you alot tonight." a doll sneered, as Andy grabbed it by the throat. "I've been following you like a fucking lapdog. Well, no more! From now on, I'll be in the driver's seat!" Andy didn't respond, and instead opted to deliver a brutal uppercut, sending the doll sky high. Once Andy turned around, he found himself staring at himself. The other Barclay grinned evilly, punching Andy in the jaw.

"Come on, Andy, you had more fight in you when you were six years old!" With a chill, Andy listened to the other man's voice, realizing it was speaking with Chucky's vocals. Just as the other Barclay threw a punch, Andy reached out, grabbing the fist and spinning his evil twin around, before putting him in a headlock.

"Come on, do it!" the evil Barclay goaded. "We know you want to! Do it! Do it!" With a roaring noise in his ears, Andy finally gave in, snapping his mirror image's neck. In an instant, the skies darkened, and Andy found himself in a room so dark, he couldn't even see the floor. Andy looked down, seeing that the image of himself with a snapped neck had de aged, to the point of resembling himself when he first met Chucky.

"So, you finally lost it." the Andy doll snickered, mockingly clapping his hands. "You finally snapped. Literally, seeing as how his neck is."

"What the fuck was that?" Andy asked.

"That was your childhood." the doll answered, pointing to the body of a little boy. "And you killed it."

"No, it had the voice of Chucky." Andy tried to find a way around it. "It couldn't have been that-"

"There's no denying it this time." the doll laughed. "You've got the mind of a killer. It's over, Andy. You destroyed the last shred of your old life. And once you cross the blood red line one more time, I'll be free."

"Why not just take control now?" Andy asked, trying to sound confident. "Or is my dark side not as strong as you say?"

"Trust me, kid, if I really wanted to, I'd have you locked away now." the doll chuckled coldly. "But I'd rather your dear Nica see you lose control before her very eyes. It'll be fun just to see the look on her face."

"So this is all just a game to you." Andy realized, and the doll nodded.

"Consider killing Bushwacker and Fisk being the last good things you will ever do." the doll cackled, before vanishing, and Andy's entire world turned black.

"Andy? Andy!"

Andy's eyes snapped open, looking around and seeing Jessica, Luke, Danny, and Elektra staring at him.

"What'd I miss?" Andy asked groggily.

"We're here." Jessica announced, as Frank opened the back doors of the van. "C'mon, let's finish this."

Andy, Punisher, and the Defenders entered Yves building, storming over to the receptionist.

"Can I help you?" the older woman, wearing a nametag reading 'Lois', asked.

"We need to see Wilson Fisk." Matt Murdock announced.

"Of course." the woman pressed a button below the desk. "He's been expecting you." In an instant, Frank took out his pistol and knocked the woman out.

"Shit, he knows were here." Cage muttered, just as a horde of ninjas and military trained soldiers revealed themselves in the lobby.

"These guys again?" Jessica complained.

"I thought the Hand was destroyed." Danny frowned.

"There are still remnants of their organization." Elektra told everyone. "Castle, Barclay, Matthew. Go. We'll hold them off."

"Good luck." Andy murmured, as he, Frank, and Matt sprinted to the elevator, shooting a few of the Hand ninjas along the way, but made it just in time. The whole time, the three men were silent on the ride up, while the elevator played crappy music.

"Fisks' penthouse is on the top floor." Murdock finally informed, breaking the silence. "We should expect that he's heavily protected." Moments later, the elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Barclay, Castle, and Murdock stepped out, and they became surprised at what they saw.

In the lobby, the Hand ninjas began to surround Luke, Jessica, and Danny, when Elektra had an idea.

"Throw me." Elektra urged.

"Say what?" Cage asked, not believing what the assassin said.

"Just do it." Elektra ordered, and Luke picked her up, throwing her at the Hand. Natchios spun around in the air, using her sai to impale two of the ninjas, before kicking a third in the face. Meanwhile, Luke and Jessica simply stood in the middle of the lobby, tossing ninjas and soldiers around as if they were ragdolls, while Danny leapt around, using his martial arts to stay one step ahead of his enemy.

"There's too many of them!" Jessica noted, as one of the ninjas slashed her arm, creating a gash on her shoulder. Even Cage was struggling, as the amount of ninjas was starting to overwhelm him.

"Then get down!" Danny yelled, lighting up his fist. Jessica, Luke, and Elektra obeyed and crouched down, as Rand slammed his Iron Fist on the ground, knocking everyone else off the ground and making them unconscious. Danny, Luke, Jessica, and Elektra got up, looking around and seeing all of their adversaries were incapacitated.

"Let's go." Elektra announced. "Matthew needs us." Before any of them moved, they heard laughter. Elektra and Danny turned around, seeing four individuals come out from the shadows.

"This again?" Luke muttered, seeing Willis standing with Davos, Walker, and Bullseye.

"Those guys were just the warm up." Diamondback sneered. "Now we'll see how you do against a fair fight." Luke sighed, cracking his knuckles, and he and the Defenders charged the Cabal.

Getting out of the elevator, Andy stared into Fisk's penthouse, finding that Kingpin, Bushwacker, and Jigsaw weren't there, or they appeared to be gone. Barclay looked around a bit, before finding Nica, gagged and tied to a chair, and sitting in front of the giant glass windows.

"Nica!" Andy yelled, running over to his wife.

"Barclay, wait!" Frank was about to say, but Andy didn't listen, and he bolted toward Nica, quickly cutting her bonds and gag once he approached the chair. While Nica groaned in pain, Andy checked her wrists, becoming filled with fury that they were bruised and scratched from her struggling. Upon further instruction, Andy noticed that his wife also had a few red marks and bruises on her face.

"Nica, can you hear me?" Andy asked, before lowering his voice to a whisper. "What the fuck did they do to you?" Nica slowly opened her eyes, looking at Andy and smiled weakly.

"Andy, you have to know…" Nica was about to say, but then her eyes widened in horror. "Look out!" Andy turned around, just in time to see Bushwacker strike him in the head with his gun arm. Barclay grunted in pain, looking past Ellis to find Wilson Fisk and Russo also there, with their weapons trained on Daredevil and Punisher.

"I was going to say it was a trap." Nica whimpered, while Andy struggled to get up.

"How fitting that you're all here." Fisk smiled, as Vanessa walked in, handing him the detonator once more. "To witness the new dawn of this city."

"Go to Hell." Matt told the Kingpin. "I've stopped you before. I'll do it again."

"I doubt it, Mister Murdock." Wilson smirked. "It's almost poetic. All three of you have been thorns in my side for too long…"

"Wait a sec." Frank spoke up. "The Devil put you away. I refused to be your lapdog. Why are you going after Barclay?"

"Oh, that's simple." Wilson grinned.

"Oh no…" Nica whispered.

"What?" Andy asked, but Fisk spoke over Barclay's wife.

"I had hired your doll, Charles Lee Ray, to kill an old associate of mine, Daniel Fisher." Fisk explained. "He also framed Miss Page for the murder. In turn, I gave him a small ledger that used to be his old friend and mentor's, John Bishop."

"So that's how he discovered to split his soul." Andy put two and two together. "Which led to De Silva's death!"

"He's also the reason Glen and I ended up in the same hospital as your mother." Nica added.

"You son of a bitch." Daredevil mumbled, tightening his grip on the billy club.

"I only wish I tasked Charles Lee Ray with killing Page as well." Fisk said softly. "If I did, Wesley would still be alive." Frank's eyes burned with rage at the mention of Karen, and he instantly pulled out his pistol and shot the Kingpin in the shoulder, forcing him to drop the detonator, while aiming his other at Russo. As Fisk groaned, he pointed his cane at Castle, but Murdock threw his billy club, striking Kingpin's hand and redirecting the cane, causing a blast from the tip to obliterate the _Rabbit in a Snowstorm_ painting. Kingpin roared in anger, and he and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen charged each other, while Punisher and Jigsaw dodged each other's bullets simultaneously and engaged each other in a knife fight. Because of the commotion, Bushwacker became distracted, and Andy kicked his legs out from under him, before helping Nica up.

"Well, you gonna lie down there?" Andy asked, cracking his neck from side to side while Ellis slowly rose back up. "Or are we going to fight?"

Back at the lobby, the Defenders began to grow tired from fighting the Cabal.

"Come on doll, we were trained by the same people." Bullseye taunted, throwing shurikens at Elektra, who narrowly evaded.

"What do you mean?" Elektra paused, allowing Lester to punch her in the face, followed by a jab to the neck.

"Seriously, Natchios?" Bullseye said sarcastically, as Elektra recovered. "Didn't the Hand ever mention me?"

"They only talked about a man whose aim was impeccable…" Elektra trailed off, realizing what they had meant. "That's why you're here? To avenge your old masters?"

"Not really." Bullseye admitted, sweeping Natchios' legs out from under her. "I was just here to provide a distraction in case you ever showed up. But sure, we can use that." Elektra threw one of her sai at Bullseye, but he expertly caught the blade with two of his fingers.

"How?" Elektra asked, stunned, as Lester twirled the knife in his hand.

"You're good, Elektra." Bullseye complimented. "But Stick, nor the Hand, taught you everything." Not willing to be defeated, Elektra jumped up, taking out her second sai and slashing in an upward arc. Bullseye easily ducked under the swipe, and their blades clashed momentarily, before Lester threw a right hook, catching Elektra off guard and forcing her to drop her weapon.

"Sorry hon, but no resurrection this time." Bullseye sneered, and he drove he sai towards Elektra's stomach. With lightning quick reflexes, Elektra halted the sai with her hand, before driving the blade back at Bullseye's own heart.

"It is not my time yet." Elektra murmured, as Bullseye's eyes glossed over, and his body fell to the ground.

While Frank, and Matt fought their adversaries, Nica began to approach Bushwacker, desiring to aid her husband in the fight. Just as she was about to attack, she felt herself getting sideswiped, and found herself knocked to the ground. Nica turned around, looking up to find Vanessa standing over her, holding a gun in hand.

"You should know this, having a husband." Vanessa sneered, cocking the gun. "No one can take Wilson away from me." Right before Marianna pulled the trigger, Nica kicked her legs out, causing Vanessa's shot to redirect towards Bushwacker's shoulder. Nica got back up, smashing her elbow into Vanessa's chest and following with a knee to the face, forcing the Kingpin's fiancee to the ground. With her opponent down for the moment, Nica walked a few feet away and picked up the discarded pistol, checking the ammo, before loading it.

"You haven't won." Vanessa croaked, as Nica pointed the gun at her. "Wilson will have this city."

"Too bad you won't be here to see it." Nica replied darkly, before pulling the trigger, and the bullet blew a hole in Vanessa's skull, an instant kill. Nica looked up, noticing everyone else had looked in her direction during the fight. Everyone, included Fisk.

"NO!" Kingpin yelled in cold fury, and he swatted Daredevil away, before aiming his cane at Nica. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Andy was trying to run towards her, but Bushwacker kept holding him back. Just as she thought it was the end, Castle jumped in front of her, taking the blast and slamming into a wall. Fisk was about to fire another blast from his cane, but Daredevil got up and threw his billy club, reverting Fisk's attention back to him and fighting him harder than ever. Meanwhile, Nica ran back over to Castle, whose clothes were smoking, and the skull on his vest was nearly destroyed.

"Frank, are you alright?" Nica asked. "Why did you do that?"

"I'm still breathing." Castle grunted in response. "And Barclay was a bit tied up."

"But why?" Nica repeated. "You barely know me."

"Because Andy is my friend." Castle explained. "And you guys, and the Liebermans, are the closest thing to family since Maria and the kids. I don't want to lose you too." After Castle finished his monologue, he looked past Nica, seeing that Jigsaw was casually walking towards him.

"I gotta get back to work. Hang back." Punisher declared, and he slowly stumbled back up, before sprinting towards Billy and taking him by surprise by tackling him to the floor.

In the lobby, Luke and Willis were locked in a superpowered smackdown, while Jessica and Walker traded blows and shots, and Danny and Davos dueled with their Iron Fists, with Elektra attempting to aid Rand.

"Danny, we have had the same mentors." Davos reasoned, countering Rand's strikes and lashing out with his kicks. "Do you honestly think you can beat me?"

"I've beaten you before." Danny retorted, twisting Davos' arm back and redirecting it at his own face. "It's how I got the Fist."

"My father let you win." Davos accused, backhanding Danny. "If not for him, I would have succeeded. But this isn't a tournament anymore, Danny."

"Then perhaps assistance is allowed." Davos turned around, just in time to see Elektra attack him with a palm strike, before slashing his face with her sai. Davos stumbled back, bringing his hand to his face in pain. Once he pulled his hand back, he noticed a crimson red fluid. Blood. With a roar of anger, Davos drew his hand back, charging up the Iron Fist, and punched Elektra squarely in the chest, knocking her through a glass window outside.

"Damn!" Danny cursed, before lighting up his own fist and throwing a punch at the same time as Davos, causing another shockwave like before. However, this time, Danny and Davos stood their ground, and they locked arms to prevent one another from attacking.

"Why do you care what happens to her?" Davos asked. "She was with the Hand. She murdered our people in Kun Lun!"

"She was brainwashed by the Hand!" Danny protested. "And I'm not the only one working with former members of the Hand."

"What do you mean?" Davos asked, confused.

"Look around, brother." Danny told him. "Who do you think these were?" Davos did as Danny instructed, noticing that there were indeed Hand ninjas littered around the floor. It seemed, in Davos' anger, he didn't stop to consider who the bodies were.

"All this time, I was working with the Hand…" Davos murmured, slackening his grip. Danny let go of Davos, as helt knelt on the floor, his fists no longer glowing. As Elektra began limping back towards them, Davos looked up. "Kill me. Please."

"No Davos. I can't." Danny told his brother. "I won't."

"I have allied myself with the Hand." Davos repeated. "The Iron Fist must destroy the Hand."

"The Hand is already destroyed." Danny reminded his friend, as Elektra stood next to Rand. "I won't kill my brother."

"Then I'll do it myself!" Davos shouted, and as fast as a serpent, he snatched Elektra's sai from her and slit his own throat.

"No!" Danny shouted, rushing over to Davos' side and stopping his head from hitting the ground. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I lost my way, Danny." Davos explained, his eyes beginning to close. "I wanted vengeance on you, and I didn't care how I'd get it. Even if I allied myself with our enemies…" Before he could say anything else, Davos' eyes closed for good, and Danny could no longer feel his pulse.

"Goodbye, brother." Danny said sadly, clutching his best friend's body, as if trying to shield him from any other attack.

In the penthouse, the Punisher and Jigsaw continued their battle, staining the white walls and floor with their scarlet blood. Frank and Russo traded shots, ducking behind anything that could be used as cover.

"Look at my face when I kill you, Frank!" Jigsaw screamed, and began spraying an overturned table with bullets. "I'm gonna watch you die!" Frank lifted his arm, blindly shooting, before picking up a chair and throwing it at Russo, who narrowly ducked. Billy momentarily looked back, watching Fisk turn away from punching Daredevil just in time to obliterate the projectile with his laser cane. Once Billy turned back, Frank charged towards him, tackling him to the floor again and making him shoot wildly in the air.

"You'll have to try harder." Frank muttered, beginning to pummel his old friend.

"I did." Russo smirked, and activated his wrist blade, impaling Frank's hand. Castle groaned, and Billy stabbed him in the shoulder, before forcing him off his body. Billy grinned and got up and pinned Castle down, pointing his blade at Frank's eye.

"It's about time death caught up with you." Jigsaw sneered, but right as he was about to end his life, Castle kicked out, catching Billy in his legs. Russo groaned and stumbled, before Frank grabbed Billy's wrist and forced the wrist blade to impale Jigsaw in the throat. Russo made a gurgling sound, blood coming out of his mouth, while Castle shifted his body towards a window.

"Let me put you out of my misery." Frank grunted coldly, before kicking Jigsaw out of a window. As Billy crashed through the glass and began falling dozens of stories, Frank muttered, "This is just the beginning."

Jigsaw's body crashed onto the Battle Van outside the lobby, temporarily distracting Jessica and allowing Walker to land a punch on her.

"I'm going to kill you for what you did to me." Walker vowed, kicking Jones to the ground.

"Because of what your mother did to you?" Jessica asked, and she saw Walker falter. "I know what happened to you. Patsy told me."

"I'm surprised she even remembered me." Walker snorted, picking up Jones by the neck and throwing her into a wall. As quick as she could, Jones got up, and using her abilities leapt towards Walker, punching her in the face while she did it. Unfortunately, Walker acted as if she didn't feel the pain, and she stuck her arm out, grabbing Jessica's foot and slamming her back onto the ground.

"You're not the only one who got screwed by Dorothy." Jessica revealed, while Walker kept hitting her. "Trish was abused by her too! Her mom took advantage of her being a star!"

"I don't care!" Walker yelled, beginning to choke Jessica. "My mother sent me to that asylum, and she conveniently forgot about me the moment you showed up!"

"Mary, please." Jessica begged, gasping for breath. "You don't have to kill me, and I don't want to hurt you. We could get you a therapist that can rehabilitate you. Please. Let me help you."

"Like sending me back to Birch Penitentiary?" Walker snapped. "No. It's far too late for that. I don't need help. I don't want help!" Jessica's vision began to get blurry from the strangulation, and with the last of her strength, she punched upward. In an instant, the pressure on her throat was released, and Jones took several large lungfuls of air. After several more gasps, she looked in front of her, seeing Walker's crumpled body ahead of her. Afraid of what she'd done, Jessica crawled over, only to find that the other woman's face was horribly mutilated, looking as if a blunt force completely caved a part of her head in. With a chill, Jessica realized she killed again, evidenced when she failed to find a heartbeat. Jones shuddered, bracing herself to be visited by a smug Kilgrave hallucination like last time, but was surprised when she didn't hear a voice in a British accent call her. At first, Jessica was confused, but then, a thought raced through her mind, giving her clarity. With a new sense of understanding, Jessica slowly got up, joining Elektra and Danny, who were watching Luke and Diamondback duke it out.

"Shouldn't we help?" Jessica asked.

"No." Danny replied firmly. "This is between Luke and his brother. Let them fight."

As Luke Cage fought his brother, the Devil of Hell's Kitchen was beginning to lose his battle, as well as energy, against the Kingpin. Daredevil first threw his billy club, but Fisk, knowing his tactics, simply swatted the weapon away with his cane. Matt then took out his old nightsticks, attempting to hit Fisk, but Wilson used his cane as a staff, blocking and parrying the strikes. Murdock tried using brute force, but as he tried using his signature kick, Wilson grabbed his legs and swung him into a wall, before grabbing him by the throat and repeatedly punching him.

"You stole my throne." Wilson whispered harshly, continuing to beat Murdock. "You turned the city I loved against me. You've taken away my freedom, and everything that ever mattered to me!" With one final punch, Fisk split Daredevil's helmet in two, before ripping the pieces off to reveal Matt Murdock's bloodied and broken face.

"But my eyes are opened now." Fisk mumbled, grabbing his cane and pointing it at Murdock's head. "And it's time for the Devil to be sent back to Hell." Just as the cane was about to fire, Daredevil's billy club flew out of nowhere, striking Fisk in the head. Growling, Wilson turned around, finding the Punisher with his arm outstretched.

"You never learn, Castle." Kingpin told him, with a sense of superiority. "I'll make sure to deal with you properly this time."

"This time I'm not chained up like a dog." Castle retorted, as Matt began crawling away. Frank charged forward, catching Fisk by surprise with a cut above the left eye, before jabbing him in the stomach. Unfortunately, Kingpin barely registered the pain, and he headbutted Frank before picking him up and slamming him on the ground. While Fisk pounded his fists into the Punisher, Matt slowly reached towards his billy club.

"Don't worry, Castle." Fisk smiled cruelly. "You'll see your family soon." Right as he was about to deliver the killing blow, Matt disconnected the billy club and wrapped the steel cable around Wilson's neck, choking him and stopping him from murdering Frank. Fisk bucked back, attempting to throw off Daredevil, but Murdock tightened the cord, strangling the Kingpin. Seconds later, Fisk stopped struggling, seemingly knocked out from the oxygen cutoff, and Matt let go of the cord. Matt then approached Kingpin's body, raising his fist, but Frank noticed his arm was shaking.

"Red, don't." Frank told him. "That's not who you are."

"If I don't, he won't stop." Daredevil said out loud, but he was more convincing himself. "Ryker's couldn't hold him. God knows, he took over the damn prison. If he lives, he'll be a danger to everyone I care about." Frank sighed, taking out his pistol and checking the ammo. After satisfied there were bullets still in there, Castle fired a single round, hitting Fisk dead center between the eyes.

"You didn't have to do that" Daredevil told him, shocked that Wilson Fisk just died. "Why did you?"

"Because I kinda did." Frank shrugged. "I'm the killer here, not you. That's not who you are, Red. You're the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Besides, I told him back at Ryker's that the next time we meet, only one of us was walking away." Castle stuck out his friend, and after considering it for a few moments, Daredevil shook it, before they turned away from Fisk's body to spectate Andy's fight.

Back on the ground floor, Danny was keeping himself, Jessica, and Elektra back, while Luke and Diamondback's fight began to come to a close.

"You should've killed me last time, Carl!" Willis shouted, kicking Luke through a wall and into the building's pool area. "Because now, I don't need no alien metal or supersuit to kick your ass!"

"I'm not going to kill you, Willis." Luke said adamantly, catching Willis' fist, but Diamondback just punched him with his other hand. "We're brothers."

"Nah, you were never my brother." Stryker said coldly, picking Cage up by the throat and body slamming him into the pool. As Luke was about to swim up, Willis force his hands on his head, keeping him underwater. "What kind of brother would've let me go to jail, huh? You were the preacher's golden boy, the one who could do know wrong, while I was the bastard!" Diamondback continued to hold Luke underwater, while Cage's life began flashing through his eyes, seeing his mother, Reva, and Claire. As Cage continued to drown, he was about to give up, he heard his father's voice in his ears.

 _C'mon, boy!_ James Lucas snapped his fingers at his son. _Get yo ass up!_

Luke's eyes snapped open, and he raised his arms up, grabbing Diamondback and throwing him off and onto the other side of the pool. Willis groaned in pain, while Luke crossed the pool and got out, approaching Stryker. Before Willis could even look up, Luke punched him in the head, again and again, until he began to cough up blood. Cage raised his fist again, but noticed the blood on his knuckles, and he restrained himself.

"You'll have to kill me." Willis said, coughing out more blood. Stryker attempted to throw one final punch, but Luke sidestepped, before wrapping Diamondback in a headlock.

"Willis, stop." Luke pleaded with his brother. "Please. I don't want to kill you."

"Then I'll never stop." Willis wheezed out. "I'll never stop at hunting you. And I won't stop there. I'll come for Claire, the old man, that little kid at the barber shop, and the bitch cop with one arm. But I'll start with the white boy with the glowing fist-" Luke yelled in anger, and before he even thought about it, he broke Stryker's neck with a sickening snap. Diamondback's body crumpled to the floor and into the pool, while Luke fell to his knees, looking down in shame. Danny, Jessica, and Elektra approached him, but Luke didn't hear them, and shrugged off Danny's hand to help him up.

"HEY!" Everyone turned around, seeing Misty Knight walk in. "The full force of the NYPD is here. Don't worry though. Page, Madani, and I were able to convince them you guys aren't behind the recent crime spike. They're here to help in any way they can."

"Thanks, Misty." Danny replied, before offering his hand to Luke. "Come on man, we're not done yet."

"We need to help Matthew." Elektra agreed. Not wanting to let his friends down, Luke accepted Danny's help and got up, before the four of them left the pool and entered the elevator, intent on still helping Daredevil, Punisher, and Andy.

At the same time that the Defenders were waiting in the elevator, Andy and Bushwacker continued their long and brutal battle.

"What happened to you, Ellis?" Andy asked, throwing a left hook and catching the burned side of Bushwacker's face. "How did you become- this?"

"You created me, Barclay!" Bushwacker exclaimed, smacking Andy in the face with his gun arm. "I did what I had to do to survive!"

"So now you're a cyborg." Andy guessed, dodging an uppercut and sweeping his legs, but Bushwacker lifted his foot so he wouldn't be tripped. "You've fallen farther than I ever would."

"Shut up!" Bushwacker yelled, grabbing Andy and hitting him with his elbow, which could also been seen as the stock of his gun. While Andy groaned, blood dripping from his nose, Bushwacker followed up with a knee to his stomach, and finished with a headbutt that knocked Barclay to the ground.

"Sayanora, asshole." Bushwacker snarled, aiming his gun at Andy's head. "Say hi to Brett and Harold for me."

"Andy!" Before Bushwacker fired, someone fired a gun, hitting Ellis in the shoulder. Growling in frustration, Bushwacker turned to the right, taking out a knife from his belt and throwing it at Nica, hitting her in the leg. Hearing her cry out made Andy bloodlusted, and he got up and tackled Bushwacker with cold fury. Ellis groaned once his back hit the floor, and Andy began to savagely beat him into submission. Once Bushwacker lay bloodied and bruised, Andy stopped raining his fists, breathing heavily.

"Come on, finish him!" Andy looked to his right, seeing the doll hallucination again.

"He's no better than Chucky!" Andy looked towards his left, seeing another doll appear on that side as well. Barclay looked in front of him, only to find a third doll in his field of view. "You need to stop him- permanently." Slowly, Andy took out his knife, and turned it upside down in his hand, poised to strike Ellis.

"Good, good!" the dolls chanted.

"Go ahead Barclay." Bushwacker sneered. "We both know what will happen if you don't. I'll kill you, then your bitch wife, then go for the little girl-" Andy stopped listening hearing the roaring rage in his ears. Andy drowned out all sound, including his wife's protests, and began wailing on Bushwacker's body, covering him in stab wounds. All the while, the doll was egging him on, encouraging him to kill Mark Ellis. Andy swiped the knife across Bushwacker's throat one last time, slashing open the jugular, but it didn't matter, he had already died several stab wounds ago. As crimson blood continued to spill out of Bushwacker's dead body, Andy dropped the knife, gasping heavily. He tried to stand, but collapsed to his knees, before lying on his back, overwhelmed from the stress.

"Well done, Andy." the doll chuckled, leering over Andy. "For a minute, I actually didn't know if you'd do it."

"Oh God." Andy whimpered, remembering what the doll was planning. "Don't, please…"

"No can do, kid." the doll cackled, as Andy was beginning to black out for what felt like the fifth time in a week. "I'm done riding in the back seat. Ade boku Damballa, give me all the power I beg of you!" After the last word, darkness completely took Andy, while Nica, Matt, and Frank rushed to his aid.


	23. The Fight for Andy Barclay's Soul

_Andy's Mind_

"What are we waiting for? Let's get this over with."

"No, we gotta do this right. We should torture him first."

"Fuck that! He killed our son, Chucky!"

"I agree with Mom. He should die now, before he wakes up. He's too dangerous."

"Eh, we've got all the other dolls surrounding him, he ain't going anywhere."

The Andy doll woke, finding himself tied to a chair in the old Good Guy doll factory. Looking around, he saw that Charles Lee Ray and Tiffany Valentine, in their human forms, were right in front of him, with Glenda off to the side. Behind them was Mark Ellis, after he became Bushwacker. Andy Doll turned his head from side to side, finding that there were at least a hundred Good Guy dolls surrounding them, both armed and unarmed.

"Hey guys." Andy Doll grinned. "It was a Hell of a time finding you."

"The fuck are you talking about?" Tiffany asked, boiling with anger. "We caught you!"

"Oh, Tiff, there's a reason you're a blonde." the doll taunted cruelly. "Ellis, you might wanna duck." Seconds later, Andy Barclay's black truck crashed through a window, ramming Ellis and killing him instantly. While everyone else was confused, the Andy doll quickly freed himself from the chair with a hidden knife, before bolting over to the truck. Before he got in, he checked Ellis' body, and was pleased to find out that he really was dead. Once he finally got to the vehicle, he ripped the door open, finding a girl with blonde hair in the driver's seat.

"Aw, you found me." Andy Doll said cheerfully.

"I told you I would." Alice smiled. The doll smirked, before slitting the girl's throat and throwing her out of the truck, before finding an assault rifle with a grenade launcher on it.

"Alright you bastards," the doll shouted, turning around to face the army of dolls. "Say hello to my little friend!" Andy Doll squeezed the trigger, tearing the other Good Guy dolls apart as bullets flew. The other dolls began scrambling in a frenzy, but the Andy doll didn't let them go, using his gun to rip them to shreds.

"Fuck, this is getting boring." the doll groaned, and he switched to the grenade launcher, firing round after round, and causing multiple explosions to rock the factory. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, the Andy doll looked around, seeing that all the other dolls were destroyed. With a sinister grin, the doll with Andy's voice tossed the rifle back into the truck, before pulling out Andy's twelve gauge shotgun.

"See Andy? It's much more fun when I'm in charge!" the doll cackled, before beginning to walk around. Somehow, he also began hearing a faint voice calling him, but he paid it no mind. "Guys? Where'd you go? It's time to play!" the doll walked around the factory some more, before finding Glenda hiding behind a stack of Good Guy doll boxes.

"Come on out…" the Andy doll almost sang. The daughter of Chucky did so, and fell to her knees.

"Please, please don't kill me!" Glenda grovelled. "We were just angry because you killed my brother!"

"Well… alright!" Andy Doll exclaimed happily, turning to leave. Right when Glenda sighed in relief, the doll turned around and shot Glenda directly in the face, causing her head to explode like a watermelon. "Just kidding. Never could stand begging." the Andy Doll ventured deeper in the factory, getting to the area where the dolls were actually made, and found Tiffany grabbing Ronald Tyler by the throat.

"Come here. And stop fucking struggling!" Valentine ordered, as Tyler gasped, feeling the barrel of a pistol touching the side of his head.

"Get off!" Tyler shouted, and the Andy doll fired a single round, putting a decent sized hole in his chest. As Tyler's body crumbled to the ground, Tiffany stared at the doll, eyes widened with fear.

"I can't believe…" Tiffany was about to say, but the doll fired a round at her head, splattering the walls with her blood and brains.

"A hostage, Tiff?" Andy Doll rolled his eyes. "How fucking cliche." Andy Doll climbed a flight of stairs, finding himself at the office overseeing the factory floor. With a well placed shot, the doll blew the doors open, finding Charles Lee Ray standing in the middle of the room.

"I can't let you leave." Charles said, raising his gun. "Not after what you've just done."

"I'm a living, breathing, killer doll!" Andy Doll laughed, firing a round in Ray's gut. "You can't stop me!" the doll fired two more rounds, blowing out Charles' heart and splitting his skull apart, killing Charles Lee Ray for good. The doll cackled, and went towards the door to go outside, but felt a light tugging on his overalls. The Andy doll looked down, seeing Kyle pleading with him.

"Stop this madness… please." Kyle begged, but the doll snickered, pressing his finger to her lips to shush her. Once Kyle's body laid on the floor, the doll kicked the doors open, finding himself outside in the cool breeze of Chicago.

"Andy!" the doll looked up, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. For a minute, it almost sounded like Nica's… "You have to fight it! Please! Think of Alice, think of me, and your friends like Frank!"

"Oh, Nica, ever the optimist." Andy Doll chuckled. "Your Andy is gone. But don't worry, the new and improved Andy Barclay will be coming home soon!"

 _Wilson Fisk's Penthouse_

"Andy, please, wake up!" Nica pleaded, holding her husbands face in her hands. "You have to wake up! Think of Alice!" While Nica was sobbing, Frank and Matt stood over her, hoping against hope that Andy would wake. Just then, the elevator dinged, and Jessica, Luke, Danny, and Elektra barged in.

"Hey, we're here to help-" Jessica announced, but stopped, seeing Barclay on the floor. "What the Hell happened?"

"We don't know." Frank admitted. "I think he's going into shock, or he passed out."

"His heartbeat is accelerating with every second." Matt noted, tilting his head. While the rest of the Defenders were discussing what to do, Nica kept crying and begging her husband to wake up.

"Andy, please, you have to wake up." Nica whispered. "You're not a murderer, you're not! You saved Alice and I countless times already. You're not a killer, you're the best man I've ever known! Don't let the darkness win!"

 _Andy's Mind_

"Hey, Andy! You still here?" the doll cackled. "Nica's asking for you. Should I tell her to leave a message?" Instead of a response, the lights in Chicago began to shut off, and the entire night became a black void. "Oh, Andy? Is that you?" Pretty soon, the darkness overtook the doll to the point where it couldn't even see it's own hands, and it had to activate a flashlight. Once it did though, he found himself outside a toy store, watching as Charles Lee Ray was gunned down.

"Trying to tell me something, Barclay?" the doll asked angrily. "I'm not Chucky, remember? I'm not dead, in fact, I've never been more alive!" the doll turned around, seeing that he was walking down a hallway where the only color was white. With stunning realization, the doll figured that he was back at Harrogate. But why? Andy Doll looked back at the toy store, noticing he had been looking inside a cell, that apparently was a doorway to another place. The doll continued walking, finding another cell. This one, however, showed Andy Barclay, trapped in the Good Guy doll, and placing his soul back in his human body, while Chucky was put back in the doll.

"What're you trying to prove, Andy?" the doll yelled. "You can't get rid of me! You never wanted to play with your inner demon!" Andy Doll kept walking down the hallway, peering into a third cell. This time, it showed Alice Pierce, despite Chucky's protests, was placing her soul back into her human body.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the doll asked. "That your niece resisted her dark side? Bullshit! She put her soul in a doll, just like you!" The Andy Doll finally reached a padded cell, this one being empty, but having Andy's jacket.

"It's to show that I'm stronger than you." the doll spun around, firing the shotgun right at Barclay's chest, but it was as if the gun had no effect. Andy tore the firearm away from the doll, and began beating him mercilessly. "To show, that I don't have to let my darkness win!"

"Andy, wait!" the doll begged, while Andy kept punching him. "Stop! We can work together!" Barclay didn't listen, and instead, picked up the shotgun and blew the doll back. It would have flown into the padded cell, had it not reached its hands out and grabbed the doorframe.

"Andy, don't!" the doll pleaded. "You need me!"

"No, I don't!" Barclay yelled, uppercutting the doll, and sending him crashing into the cell wall. Andy was about to close the door, when the doll slowly got up, and propped himself on one knee.

"Andy, don't leave me! Please." the doll sobbed. "I need you. I'm apart of you!"

"Yes. You are apart of me." Andy said softly, looking down. "But that doesn't mean you have any power over me. I reject my dark side." With that, Barclay slammed the cell door shut, despite the doll's pleas for mercy, and began walking away from Harrogate.

Andy walked down the hallways and corridors for what felt like hours, until he found the exit to Harrogate. Taking a deep breath, Barclay was about to leave, but he stopped, hearing the sound of a child crying. Frowning, Andy walked in the direction of the noise, finding another padded cell, but with a little boy in it. Cautiously, Andy opened the door and approached the boy.

"Hey, kid, it's alright." Andy told the boy softly. Upon touching his shoulder, the child turned around, and Andy froze, seeing himself when he was six years old.

"I thought you were dead." the boy sniffed. "The bad man said so."

"I'm not." Andy told his child counterpart. "I'm here. Do you want to leave?" Amidst the crying, the boy nodded, and Andy began walking out.

"Wait." Andy turned around, confused as the boy didn't move. "Can I hold your hand?" Andy thought for a moment, looking up, before making a decision, and stuck out his arm.

"Of course." Andy mumbled. The boy smiled, taking Barclay's outstretched hand, and together, the two walked out of the cell and exited Harrogate, where a blinding white light engulfed them.

 _Wilson Fisk's Penthouse_

"Andy, please!" Nica sobbed. "Say something!"

"His heartbeat is going back to normal." Matt pointed out, smiling hopefully. Seconds later, Andy's eyes fluttered opened, and he looked around, seeing Nica staring down at him.

"What'd I miss?" Andy said casually, noticing his wife was crying.

"Oh, thank God!" Nica smiled, and she hugged Barclay. Andy, overwhelmed by the fight in his mind, allowed the bear hug from his wife, before his brain caught up with his body, and he returned the hug.

"Glad to see you're not dead." Andy looked up, seeing the Defenders staring at them. Even though he wanted to stay like that forever, just hugging his wife, Andy stood up, grinning at his friends.

"Likewise." Andy smirked. Suddenly, the elevator dinged, and Misty Knight walked out. "Shit."

"Hey, don't worry, you're not under arrest." Knight told him. "It's like I told Luke and everyone else, the NYPD found out you guys aren't responsible for the crimes that have been going on lately."

"How'd you figure that?" Frank asked.

"Miss Page and Lieberman were able to hack into the Rand Enterprise database." Knight explained. "Turns out, he had detailed instructions for all the shit that went down over the past week, as well as the list of everyone that's on his payroll."

"That mean we don't have law enforcement breathing down our neck?" Jessica asked.

"What do you think that means?" Luke muttered, while Danny wore a goofy smile.

"Feels like when we finally started being believed about Chucky." Andy murmured. Nica grinned, and she and Barclay kissed, happy that they were together again.

"Guys, let's give them the room, huh?" Frank suggested, and he ushered the Defenders, Misty, and Elektra into the elevator, leaving Andy and Nica alone. Andy closed his eyes, not caring about anything else in the world. He had beaten his dark side, and proved that he wasn't an insane murderer, but at the moment, that didn't matter. For all he cared, his world was already saved. His wife was with him again, and he couldn't be happier.


	24. Epilogue: No City For Old Heroes

_One Month Later_

The last few weeks were a blur. After giving statements to the police, Andy, Nica, and the Defenders were allowed to go their separate ways. As the NYPD cracked down on Fisk's criminal syndicate, both low life criminals and business CEOs were arrested, as well as officers of the law. Among those arrested were Turk Barrett, Joy Meachum, and Priscilla Ridley. Because of the arrests, Ward and Danny had to step in to curb Rand Enterprises from falling into disarray, while Misty Knight and her fellow officers were forced to step up and work twice as hard to uphold the law. All the while, the Defenders faded into the shadows, barely being seen or heard from…

 _London_

Matt Murdock walked down the streets, cane in hand, with Elektra holding his arm to support him.

"We finally made it, Matthew." Elektra smiled. "We're finally free."

"I'm just happy that Karen and Foggy understood." Matt grinned, tilting his head and hearing every voice in the city. "Still want to visit Madrid or Tunisia?" Elektra laughed, remembering her suggestions back when they had fought the Hand.

"London is perfect, Matthew." Elektra said, planting her lips onto Murdock's. Even though Big Ben was on the other side of the city, Matt could still hear the chiming of the gigantic clock because of his honed in senses.

"It's getting late." Murdock told Natchios, once their kiss ended. "Are you hungry?"

"Of course." Elektra smiled. "I saw an Italian restaurant down the block." Matt and Elektra soon found themselves sitting at a table outside, ordering a shared plate of ratatouille. Throughout the meal, Matt and Elektra talked and laughed about their future together, happy that Murdock had finally received the happy ending he deserved.

 _Alias Investigations_

Jessica was in the middle of reading through a case, when Trish entered her office.

"You wanted to see me?" Trish asked. Jessica looked up.

"Yeah." Jones replied. "I think I've finally had enough time to wrap my head around all this bullshit."

"What?" Trish asked, confused.

"Get the whiskey, will you?" Jessica requested, ignoring the look on her sister's face. Bewildered, Trish opened a cabinet, and handed Jones the entire bottle.

"Thanks." Jessica muttered, pulling the cap off and drinking right from the bottle.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Patsy asked.

"I just want you to know-" Jessica set the bottle down. "-that I understand now."

"Understand what?" Trish asked.

"Why you killed my mother." Jessica explained. "I kept thinking that it shouldn't have been you, but if it wasn't, I would've been dead too."

"No, Jess, I was wrong." Trish insisted. "I wanted to have powers like you, and I did everything to get them. I said that you don't deserve your powers, but you do. You're not selfish like I am."

"I still feel like I am." Jessica mumbled, taking another swig of whiskey. "Back at the Yves building, I had to kill your real sister."

"Jess, she was trying to kill you." Trish told her. "And she threatened your friends. I won't hold that against you."

"Thanks, Patsy." Jessica sadly smiled, hugging Walker.

"Does that mean you and I are good?" Trish asked hopefully, returning the hug.

"Not yet." Jessica told her. "But it's a start."

 _Pop's Barber Shop_

Luke Cage sat in one of the shop's chairs, sadly going through news and tweets on his phone. It had only been a few weeks since the final battle at the Yves building, and since then, Luke had become depressed that he was pushed to the point of killing his own brother. That was why a few days after the incident, he had gone straight to Mother's Touch and handed ownership of Harlem's Paradise to Tilda Johnson, the daughter of Mariah Stokes. After all, she was the one who actually wanted the place, evidenced by her expression when Donovan read Mariah's will. Harlem's Paradise did come with one condition though, and Cage made Tilda promise not to start any gang wars, and to help control crime in New York. Even though he hated it, he had to admit that controlling crime did help in slowing down.

Luke became lost in his thoughts, that he didn't even notice the barber shop's door open.

"Luke?" Cage looked in the direction of the doorway, seeing Danny Rand come in. "What're you doing here, man? I haven't heard from you in weeks. Claire's worried about you."

"There's nothing much I can do." Luke mumbled, turning his attention back to his phone. "I can't do this anymore."

"What, you can't help defend New York?" Danny asked, sitting down in the other chair. "Come on, Luke."

"Danny, I killed my brother." Luke told the Iron Fist. "I thought I could attone by giving up the club, but so far, I don't feel any better. I'm considering in turning myself in and going back to Seagate for this."

"Luke, I know how you're thinking right now." Rand said truthfully. "That night at Yves, I lost my brother too. And I know that you believe your penance is either moping around here, or in a jail cell."

"It's not just that." Cage added. "Even before I knew Willis was my brother, he was my best friend. And I killed him in cold blood."

"Luke, I need you. Your friends need you. New York needs you." Danny reasoned. "I'm not saying you shouldn't get penance, you probably should. But attone for it as being Harlem's Hero." After finishing his speech, Danny held out his hand. Luke stared at him for a moment, before deciding to agree.

"Alright, man. I'm in." Luke shook Danny's hand, before doing a fist bump, ready to get back out on the streets.

 _Central Park_

"I always loved coming here with my kids." Frank murmured, sitting in front of the carousel with Karen.

"Didn't think you'd want to come back." Karen remarked, staring at the children riding the horses. "Especially after Billy…"

"Russo's gone, Karen." Castle reminded her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Everyone involved in the murder of my family is dead now."

"So why are we here?" Karen asked.

"Because I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, ever since you saved me in Micro's old hideout." Frank explained, and he reached into his hoodie, careful not to reveal his Punisher vest, and pulled out a small silver ring, with a black diamond attached to the top of it. At first, Karen stared at the jewelry, confused, but then realized what he meant. "If you want me to go on my knees…"

"No, no, you're fine." Karen quickly said. "But how can you?"

"I thought I'd never be capable of feeling love again, after Maria…" Frank began, looking off at the carousel, then turned his head back to Page. "But then I realized that you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want there to be an end to my mission." Karen looked at Frank, smiling, and slipped the ring on.

"My answer is yes." Karen whispered, and she and Castle kissed, with their heads being haloed by the carousel horses.

 _Andy's Apartment_

Nica woke up after a peaceful night's rest, surprised that she didn't hear Andy scream at all. Once she rolled over, she realized the reason was most likely because he wasn't in bed with her, with his side of the covers laying at the foot of the bed. Bewildered at first, Nica got up, put on clothes for the day as quickly as she could, and walked over to the kitchen, where she finally found Andy sitting at the table, drinking coffee and staring at several newspapers laid out on the table.

"Morning." Andy smiled, sipping his coffee. Nica looked down at the papers, noticing they were old news. One read of the Incident, another of Sokovia, and a third, most recent paper, retold the events of the massive crime wave a month prior. "Sleep well?"

"Surprisingly yes." Nica admitted, approaching the counter and making herself a cup of fresh coffee. "Alice is already at school?"

"Yeah." Andy informed. "I'm kinda glad we got her into Midtown with Zach and Leo."

"Me too." Nica agreed, taking a drink of her coffee and sat down across from her husband. "Ready to go to another meeting?"

"I'd like you to come with." Andy told her. "Curtis said we can bring friends and family for this one."

"Are you sure?" Nica asked. "I can't possibly contribute-"

"Then just listen." Andy requested, placing his hand over hers. "Please."

Ten minutes later, Nica and Andy arrived at the church basement where Curtis' support group was, sitting down with Curtis, Frank Castle, Danny Rand, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. Standing behind them were Karen, Colleen, Claire, and Trish. None of the military veterans were there, indicating that Curtis set up a special support group for the day.

"Thanks for coming again, Andy." Curtis spoke up. "I didn't think you'd show."

"Hey, there's not a lot of people I feel comfortable opening up to." Andy replied. "For as long as I remember, I've had to live in paranoia, for fear that the doll would come after me. Now, with him being destroyed for good this time, I thought I could get a normal life, but that was all squashed when Wilson Fisk and Russo broke out, along with bringing an old acquaintance back. Now that they're all gone, I don't know where to go from here, because running and fighting is all I've ever known."

"Sounds like you're a shit magnet." Frank mumbled. "Then again, there isn't a single person in this room that isn't."

"Including Matt." Jessica pointed out. "Kind of a shame he had to go."

"He just wanted a fresh start." Danny reminded everyone. "We can't really blame him for wanting to leave everything else behind."

"I know where he's coming from." Luke agreed. "That's partly why I changed my name and moved here."

"Point being, you don't have to run anymore, Andy." Curtis said. "We all have your back. You still have nightmares?"

"No, I just have the same dream now." Andy replied. "It's odd, it always involves my father. I never really new Tom, he died before I was born. I guess that would make us the same age now, maybe a ten year difference…"

"Anything interesting that happens?" Nica asked her husband.

"It always is for the audience." Andy muttered, before turning to everyone else. "My father and I are driving down a road, somewhere in the countryside. The car we're driving is always a 1988 Chevy Corvette, painted black. Where we're going, I don't know. I can only assume it's something fathers and sons do, like fishing or hunting. Sometime farther down the road, a newer car speeds up to us. That one is usually a 2008 Malibu, painted red and gold. I can never be sure, but the drivers in some way resemble Frank and Matt." At the mention of his name, Frank's ears perked up, and he began paying even closer attention to the story.

"My car and their car end up basically drag racing at this point, trying to reach our destination first," Andy continued. "When the corvette begins slowing down, eventually stopping completely because the engine gave out, while the malibu blasts ahead, leaving us in the dust. And then…" there was a pause, and Andy looked down.

"Then what?" Frank asked, and Andy looked up, staring at everyone with tired, stressed out eyes.

"And then I wake up."

 _The End_


End file.
